The Dragon Master
by Krika1119
Summary: Following the story of a beginner cardfighter of the Kagero Clan, this young boy will meet many new people and make new friends and also enemies while striving to become one of the strongest cardfighters in the world
1. The Dragon VS The Paladin

**Krika: Hello people! Welcome to my second trading card story! This story takes place about two weeks before the events of Vanguard G. Characters from previous series will appear in this story along with new characters that will be introduced since the new season of Vanguard G was recently released. Anyway, enjoy! Vanguard belongs to Bushiroad.**

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Cardfight Vanguard, a card game played across the globe. In this game, imagination is key to play to the fullest. When card fighters play, they imagine that they have been transported to a far off planet called Cray. This planet has multiple factions that are then split up into Clans. The factions of Cray are the United Sanctuary, Dragon Empire, Star Gate, Dark Zone, Magallanica and Zoo. Within Japan, there are areas called Branches, which are designated by the factions of Cray, and have very skilled players. The best players in a clan become Clan Leaders, which is a great honor for many aspiring cardfighters. In the largest Branch, the Dragon Empire, was a young boy, around 14 in age and was looking at some Vanguard cards. He has deep green hair that was spiky and he had cyan blue eyes. He was wearing a blue school uniform and looking at some cards that belonged to the Kagero Clan. His name is Shen Jira.

"Okay...hopefully this will be good enough," Shen said, shuffling his deck and gets up, he grabs his book bag and heads over to a very popular card shop called Card Capital 2. He enters in and was greeted by the store manager, Shin Nitta.

"Welcome to Card Capital! How may I help you?" Shin asked the boy.

"Oh. Uh...hi there. I'm here to sign up to be an official cardifghter," Shen said, a bit timidly actually.

"Oh? So you want to be an official cardfighter, eh? Well okay then! I'll get you signed up in a jiff. I just need your information and the Clan you use," Shin said to him, getting on his computer.

"Okay. My name is Shen Jira. I'm 14 and I use the Kagero Clan," Shen said, giving his information.

"Kagero clan, eh? Lots of strong players who use that Clan," Shin said with a smile.

"Yeah. Though...I'm not very good at it. I've been stuck with school work so I haven't had many chances to play," Shen said, looking at his newly built deck.

"Hmm...how about you try challenging one of the other kids here to a friendly battle? That way you can get a few battles under your belt," Shin suggested before handing Shin a Fighter's Card, with it being white of course.

"Oh. Okay then. I'll ask around," Shen said, heading into the room where cardfighters played games and looked around.

"Now take this!" Shen looked over and saw two people playing a game, one of them had three damage while the other had five damage. The one with three was using a Shadow Paladin deck, a Grade 3 Shadow Blaze Dragon as his Vanguard. The Shadow paladin user was a boy with jet black hair that was shoulder length and he had blue eyes. He was wearing a black leather jacket with a blue shirt underneath and wearing khaki shorts with red and white shoes. "Twin Drive!" The boy checked the top two cards on his deck and one of them was a Critical Trigger, "Alright! I give all effects to Shadow Blaze Dragon!"

The other player recoiled, having imagined his Vanguard taking the damage and checks the top card on his deck and sighs before placing it on his damage counter, with it being six he had lost the battle, "Aw man...I lost"

"Hey, don't worry. Keep working on your skills and I'll welcome a rematch!" The black haired boy said, giving the player a thumbs up and a smile.

The other cardfighter smiled and nodded before collecting his cards and shuffling them into his deck and left before Shen walked up, "Uh...excuse me. You think you and I can have a cardfight?"

"Huh? Oh, sure. I definitely have the time for a couple more fights. The name's Tai Nakami," The fellow Vanguard player said, holding out his hand.

Shin shakes his hand, "I'm Shen Jira"

Tai nods and shuffles his own deck and places his deck on his spot on the table and placed his G-Units on their own separate spot, "Okay then. I assume you know the basics?"

"Of course," Shen says placing his deck on his spot, and he didn't have any G-Units on him before the two placed their FICAs on the slots.

 ***STAND UP, VANGUARD***

The table lit up and a picture of a location on Cray appears underneath the play mat, "I'll let you choose an area you feel most comfortable with," Tai said to Shen.

"Okay," Shen swiped the table a bit before he found a location with volcanoes and lava.

"Oh? A location belonging to the Kagero clan in the Dragon Empire, eh? Nice choice," Tai said, complimenting on the choice.

"Um...thanks," Shen said before he and Tai picked out a Grade 0 card from their deck and shuffled their decks again before placing their Grade 0s on their Vanguard spots before drawing five cards for their starting hand.

"You ready? Now...imagine it. Our spirits have been transported to the planet Cray..." Tai said, with Shen closing his eyes.

Shen found himself in his mind's eye that he was on a rock platform with lava surrounding him, his body was about see-through before he saw Tai in front of him. "So...this is Cray? I haven't played that many games so I never got a good picture"

"Well now you see what a part of Cray looks like. We're currently in the Dragon Empire, home to the strongest military force on Cray. And right now we're on the home turf of the Kagero clan, one of the most fiercest clans in the Dragon Empire," Tai said with a smile, "Now currently we're powerless spirits and we can't do anything. But what we can do is call upon the forces of Cray to fight on our behalf. And the one that leads...is the Vanguard. Now, let's begin shall we?"

Shen nods before they grabbed their Vanguard cards, "Stand up! Vanguard!" they both said and flipped the cards over, revealing their Grade 0s and they transformed into their chosen cards and their summoning circles lit up in their own colors, Tai's was a deep purple while Shin's was a light red.

"Amber Dragon, Dawn!" Shen called out the name of his starting Vanguard, and his imaginative form turned into the unit.

"Promising Knight, David!" Tai called out before he turned into the unit.

"So...which of us is going to go first?" Shen asked.

"Normally we'd play rock paper scissors, but since you're still relatively green at this I'll go first. Now I Ride!" Tai placed a card over his starting Vanguard, "Darkquartz Dragon!" His Vanguard on Cray changes into the new Vanguard, with Promising Knight, David being placed behind Darkquartz Dragon in the Rearguard, "You see, some Grade 0 cards allow you to move them to the Rearguard if they have the skill. Now since I'm going first, I can't attack you, so it's your turn"

Shen nods and draws a card "Okay then. I ride!" Shen placed a card on top of his Vanguard, "Amber Dragon, Daylight!" His Vanguard turns into the evolved form of its previous form, "Now thanks to Amber Dragon, Dawn's skill, I can search my deck for one Amber Dragon, Dusk," Shen announced, searching his deck before he found the card and revealed it to Tai before placing it into his hand and shuffled his deck.

"So you have the Amber Dragons, eh? Those are some rare cards to get, especially since they work so well together," Tai said to him.

Shen rubbed his head with an embarrassed blush from the praise, "Yeah...I got pretty lucky with finding them. It's like it was fate, you know?"

"Eh. I'm not really superstitious about that kind of stuff. But I guess I can agree with that you were meant to find those cards," Tai said before smirking, "Now. Come at me!"

"I call Perdition Dragon, Tinder Spear Dracokid and Volcano Gale Dragon to the Rearguard!" Shen announces before placing the cards on the rearguard. Volcano Gale behind Daylight and placing Tinder Spear on the bottom left circle. "Supported by Volcano Gale Dragon, Amber Dragon, Daylight attacks your Vanguard!" Shen flips Volcano Gale Dragon sideways and then Amber Dragon, Daylight. Before that he grabbed the top card on his deck, "Drive Check" He draws the card and reveals it, and since it didn't have anything on it he just placed it in his hand On Cray, Daylight sent out a kick at Darkquartz, sending the dragon reeling back, with Tai doing the same before he grinned.

"Nice. Damage Check," Tai checked the top card, "No Trigger" He placed the card in his damage zone and drew a card. "Now I Ride!" He placed a Grade 2 unit on top of his Vanguard, "Darkpride Dragon!" His Vanguard turns into the unit on the card. "Now I'll call Karma Collector, Darkquartz Dragon, and finally Blitz Knight, Bolfri!" he calls the three units, Karma Collector to the lower left circle with Blitz Knight, Bolfri in front of it and Darkquartz on the top right circle.

 _Three units...and now his Vanguard is a Grade 2..._ Shin thought, feeling a little nervous.

"Don't worry. You can use the units in your hand to guard against my attacks so you can prevent any damage," Tai said to him, giving him a reassuring smile. "Now, supported by Karma Collector, Bolfri attacks your Vanguard!"

"I guard with Red Pulse Dracokid!" Shin places the card on the Guard Circle and places it in the Drop Zone afterwards.

"Supported by Promising Knight, David, Darkpride Dragon attacks your Vanguard!" Tai says, "Drive Check," Tai checked the top card of his deck and grins before revealing it, a Grim Reaper card, "Critical Trigger!"

"I don't guard," Shen says, recoiling a bit when his Vanguard took the hit and he checked the two cards on top of his deck and one of them was a Gattling Claw Dragon, "Draw Trigger," Shin draws a new card and smiled.

Tai notices the smile and smirks, "With that look on your face, you must have drawn one of your favorite cards in that deck"

"Huh? Uh...you can say that I guess," Shen said as he placed the two cards he checked for damage in the damage zone.

"Now I'll end my turn there. It's your turn now," Tai said to him.

"Huh? But you haven't attacked with Darkquartz," Shen said, looking at the unit Tai didn't attack with.

"Sometimes you gotta know when to attack and when to defend. If Darkquartz had the Intercept ability, I could use him for defending against an attack. But remember that you're still a beginner at this, so I'm going easy on you," Tai said with a smile.

Shen smiles and stands his cards and draws a card, "Now I ride!" He placed his own Grade 2 unit on top of his Vanguard, "Amber Dragon, Dusk!" his Vanguard moves up to the next Grade.

 _There's Amber Dragon, Dusk...now all there's left is either Amber Dragon, Eclipse or Amber Dragon, Midnight...this guy has a pretty good deck for a greenhorn..._ Tai thought with a smile.

"Now I call! Iron Tail Dragon! Amber Dragon, Daylight! And finally, Blue Ray Dracokid!" Shen calls the three units, Iron Tail Dragon to the top left circle with Amber Dragon, Daylight to the top right and then Blue Ray Dracokid behind it on the bottom right. "Supported by Blue Ray Dracokid, Amber Dragon, Daylight attacks your Vanguard!"

"No guard," Tai takes the damage, "Damage Check," he checks the top card on his deck and places it on the Damage Zone.

"Supported by Tinder Spear Dracokid, Iron Tail Dragon attacks your Vanguard!" Shen announces.

"No guard," Tai takes the damage and does a Damage Check, finding that it didn't have a Trigger either and places it on the Damage Zone, bringing him to 3 damage.

"Now, supported by Volcano Gale Dragon, Amber Dragon, Dusk attacks your Vanguard!" Shen announces, an excited look having grown on his face as the fight went on.

"I guard with Knight of Meditation, Mac Nessa!" Tai announces, placing his card on the Guard Circle.

"Drive Check," Shen checks the top card on his deck and smirks, "Critical Trigger!"

"Aw man!" Tai exclaimed.

"All effects to Amber Dragon, Dusk!" Shen shouted, the attack breaking through and causing two damage to Tai.

"Damage Check," Tai checked the top two cards and got an Illegal Alchemist out of the two, "Alright! A Heal Trigger!" Tai places the two cards on the Damage Zone and takes one of the cards out of the zone and places it in the Drop Zone, bringing him to 4

"This...this is so exciting! I never had a Vanguard fight like this!" Shen said in excitement.

Tai laughed and he drew a card, "Yeah. Vanguard is an awesome game, isn't it? But now...the real battle begins now!" He holds up one of his cards, "Take flight and rain down doom on my foes! I ride!" He slams his Grade 3 card on top of his Vanguard, and it was the same card Shen saw him use earlier, "Shadow Blaze Dragon!"

On Cray, Tai's Vanguard turned into the terrifying Abyss Dragon as lightning sparked all around it, Shen gulping nervously, "Shadow Blaze Dragon..."

"This is my avatar. And by that I mean it's my favorite card in my entire deck and I always play it when I can," Tai said with a smile.

"Your...avatar, huh?" Shen said, looking at the cards currently in his hand and saw the one he drew thanks to the Draw Trigger.

"Now get ready! I'm going on the attack! Supported by Karma Collector, Bolfri attacks your Vanguard!" Tai announces.

"I guard with Inspire Yell Dragon!" Shen announces and uses the card to Guard.

Unbeknownst to the two cardfighters, they attracted quite the crowd around them.

"Wow, this is pretty awesome! Tai is one of the top ranked fighters in the entire store!" One of the onlookers said.

"I attack with Darkquartz Dragon!" Tai announces.

"No guard!" Shen draws a card for Damage Check and sees how it didn't have a Trigger and placed it on the Damage Zone, bringing him to 3 damage

"Supported by Promising Knight, David, Shadow Blaze Dragon attacks your Vanguard!"

Shen grabs two cards, "I guard with Serrated Dracokid and Spiritburn Dragon!"

"Twin Drive!" Tai draws two cards and grins and holds them up, one having a Critical Trigger.

"Darn it...Damage Check," Shen checks the two cards and one was a Stand Trigger and the other a Draw Trigger. Shen draws another card as he places the two damage cards in the Damage Zone, leaving him at 5.

"That was a smart move defending against the first attack. If you didn't, I would have won," Tai said with a smile.

"Thanks. Now it's my turn! Stand and draw!" Shen stands his cards and draws a card.

"Now show me. Show me the card you drew that you smiled at!" Tai announced.

Shen smirked and nodded, "Okay then!" he held up a card, "Now arise! Unleash a power that swallows light! I ride!" Shen slams the Grade 3 unit on top of his Vanguard, "Amber Dragon, Eclipse!"

"Woah! Amber Dragon, Eclipse!? That's a really rare card to get from the Kagero clan!" One of the onlookers said, looking in awe at Shen's avatar.

"Activating Eclipse's Counter Blast!" Shen flipped two of his Damage Zone cards upside down, on Cray Eclipse was surrounded in an aura of power as he readied his attack.

"Eclipse's Counter Blast...I better make sure you don't land a hit on my Vanguard," Tai said with a smirk.

"We'll see about that! Thanks to Amber Dragon, Dusk being in Eclipse's Soul, his power is increased by 1000! And now supported by Tinder Spear Dracokid, Iron Tail Dragon attacks your Vanguard!" Shen announces.

"I don't guard. Damage Check," Tai checks the top card and it was a Heal Trigger, but he only had 4 damage, so he added it, bringing it to 5.

Shen smiled, "Supported by Blue Ray Dracokid, Amber Dragon, Daylight attacks your Vanguard!"

"No guard. Damage check," Tai checks the top card and finds it to be a Heal Trigger, bringing his damage down to 5.

"Now, supported by Volcano Gale Dragon, Amber Dragon, Eclipse attacks your Vanguard!" Shen announces.

"I guard with Promising Knight, David!" Tai announces.

"Twin Drive!" Shen checks the top two cards and both were Critical Triggers.

"He pulled two Critical Triggers! This guy has some luck!" An onlooker shouted.

"Now break through! Eternal Eclipse!" Shen shouted.

On Cray, Eclipse formed a giant ball of fire between the two machines attached to his arms before blasting it at Tai's Vanguard, resulting in an explosion. Back on Earth, Tai placed two cards on the Damage Zone after not finding any Heal Triggers. But Tai gave a satisfied smile, "That...was one of the best cardfights I've ever had"

"Yeah...that was the best fight I've ever had too..."Shen said, looking at the table they played on before hearing the people around him cheering and looked around. "W-woah! What the?!"

"Wow...didn't notice you all. Guess we were getting into it so much we tuned everything out," Tai said with a laugh.

Shen looks at Tai and smiles _This guy...he's pretty awesome..._

Tai held his fist up, "Okay then! I'll be your tutor and friend from this day on!"

Shen looked at him before smiling widely and fistbumped him.

This was the beginning of a great friendship made possible thanks to Cardfight Vanguard. Now Shen has an exciting hobby to do from now on since he met Tai. And Shen will keep on getting stronger from now on.

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 **Krika: I hope you guys enjoyed this first chapter of The Dragon Master! And don't worry, Shen will get some G-Units next chapter and they'll be Flame Dragons, much like the ones he has played against Tai. Stay tuned for the next chapter!**


	2. The First Stride

**Krika: Hello guys! Welcome to the second chapter of my Vanguard story! This chapter will be showing off a G-Unit that has not been shown in the anime before, the same goes for the manga but is still an actual card. So enjoy! I do not own Vanguard, all ownership goes to Bushiroad.**

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Things have taken a great turn for the better for Shen after he signed up as a cardfighter. He regularly goes to Card Capital whenever he has nothing else to do to get new cards or to challenge other cardfighters. Right now he was sitting on one of the chairs in the card shop with a booster pack in his hand. He was wearing a long-sleeved unbuttoned red shirt with a white shirt underneath with a large Kagero symbol on the center of it. He wore black jeans with green and red shoes.

"Okay...here goes nothing," Shen said to himself and opened up the pack, with the back of the cards facing him. He flips the first few cards over, some of them being a mix of different clans until he reached the last card. This one was completely different because it had a black and white back. "Could this be…?" Shen flipped the card over and found that it was none other than the Flame Emperor Dragon King, Irresist Dragon.

"Found something good?" Tai called out to him, in which Shen looked at him with a smile and showed the card, "Awesome! You finally got a G-Unit! Not only that, but it's a Flame Dragon, it fits perfectly for your deck!"

"Yeah! I never got a G-Unit before, so this is my first one. I should probably get extra copies so I have multiple ones to use," Shen said, looking at the new card.

"I actually recommend that you get various G-Units. I did the same for my deck," Tai suggested.

"Oh. Okay. If you say so," Shen responded.

"Anyway...how are you coming along on your quests?" Tai asked him.

Shen got out his FICA and showed it to him, the 'V' having turned black, "I actually just got to Grade 1 today"

"Nice! Hey, since you have the time, we can probably find you a quest that will get you used to using G-Units," Tai suggested, going over to the quest board along with Shen.

Shen looks through the quests before finding one, "I need help. A bully at my school stole my best card and is using it in his deck, saying it's his. Please help," Shen said, reading out the quest.

"A guy stealing a card and using it like he owns it? Man, that's low," Shen and Tai turn around and were greeted by Kamui Katsuragi.

"Oh. Hey Kamui," Shen said, having gotten familiar with Kamui a couple days back.

"Seems like this kid is some real trouble. I assume you're going to accept it?" Kamui asked the young man.

"Of course. Stealing is wrong, especially when a prized possession is involved," Shen said, placing his FICA on a slot and a Vanguard circle appears in the large screen, signifying that he accepted the quest before heading out with Tai.

Eventually they met up with the young boy who posted the quest, "Oh. Did you accept my quest?"

"Yep. My name is Shen Jira. So, what card did this bully stole from you anyway?" Shen asked the boy, crouching down to his height.

"It's Royal Paladin card called Seeker, Light Saver Dragon," the boy explained to him.

"That's a pretty rare card from the Seeker sub-clan, and it's a Legion card on top of that and is compatible with Seeker, Light Blaze Dragon," Tai said, crossing his arms as he explained the info of the card.

"Yeah, that's right. I posted the quest when he stole that card, but then he stole my Light Blaze Dragon shortly after," the boy said.

"Well don't worry, I'll get it back for you for sure," Shen said with a smile.

The boy smiles, "Thanks! I think he's in the park right now. He usually hangs out around there picking on other kids"

Following the advice of the quest giver, Tai and Shen headed towards the park, where they did see quite a few groups of kids playing Vanguard.

"Welp...this won't be as simple as we thought," Tai said bluntly.

"Let's look around and ask some of the kids. We might be able to at least narrow down our search area," Shen said, and they went right to it. They asked around everywhere, Tai asking a group of kids, who didn't know anything but did give some information of a kid going around with a set of Legion cards.

"Okay, thanks for the info!" Tai met back up with Shen, "Okay. The kids I spoke with said that the guy we're looking for goes around near the entrances of the park to trap cardfighters. And I have a plan"

"Okay. What is it?" Shen asked.

Tai pointed at him, "We'll use you as bait!"

"What the heck kind of plan is that?!" Shen asked, shocked that Tai would even suggest a plan like that.

"Don't worry! If things go south then I'll step in. Besides you chose to accept this quest, so it makes sense for you to be the bait," Tai explained.

"I...guess you're right...okay then, let's do it," Shen said, agreeing to the plan.

Shen left the park but soon came back through one of the entrances, acting like he wasn't there earlier and looking at his Vanguard cards. As he was about to reach a fountain, a kid who looked a year or two older than the quest giver stopped him, "Hey! I never seen you around here. You a cardfighter?"

"I am. I use the Kagero clan," Shen said to the boy, getting the impression that this was the kid who stole the card.

The boy smirked and held up a FICA, showing he was a Grade 2 fighter, "Well then I challenge you to a cardfight!"

Shen got out his own FICA and they pressed the diamonds on the center of the devices before tossing them up and they turn into tables that they would use for the cardfight, "Fine by me. Let's get to it," Shen placed a Grade 0 on the Vanguard circle and shuffled his deck before drawing five cards and placing his only G-Unit in the G-Zone, with the boy doing the same. The field they chose were the training grounds of the Royal Paladins.

They both grabbed the cards on their Vanguard circles, "Stand up! Vanguard!" they both flipped the cards over.

"Amber Dragon, Dawn!" Shen called out.

"Seeker, Hartmy!" The boy called out.

"I'll go first. I ride Amber Dragon, Daylight!" Shen said, placing the Grade 1 on top of his Vanguard after drawing a card and then using Dawn's skill to find Amber Dragon, Dusk, "I end my turn"

The young boy drew a card "I ride Bravogal Seeker!" The boy placed the Grade 1 on his Vanguard and moved Hartmy behind Bravogal, "Now supported by Hartmy, Bravogal attacks your Vanguard! And Drive Check," the boy drew a card and placed it in his hand after not finding a Trigger.

"No guard. Damage Check," Shen checks the top card on his deck and places it on the damage zone when he couldn't find a Trigger and the boy announced that he ended his turn and Shen drew a card, "I ride Amber Dragon, Dusk!"

"So...you have the Amber Dragon cards, huh? Pretty rare and powerful…" The boy said with a smirk.

"I call Volcano Gale Dragon and Blue Ray Dracokid," Shen places Blue Ray Dracokid behind Dusk and placed Volcano Gale Dragon next to Dusk on the right. "Supported by Blue Ray Dracokid, Dusk attacks your Vanguard, with an extra 1000 power from Daylight being in the Soul! And Damage Check," Shen checks the card on top of his deck and places it in his hand.

"I don't guard. Damage Check," the boy checked the card on top of his deck and places it on the Damage Zone.

"I didn't like the tone you gave me when I rode Amber Dragon, Dusk. The tone you gave was one from a greedy person," Shen said to him.

"Well I do like collecting rare cards. And if you have the full set that's quite the rarity in itself. I mean, you're a Grade 1 fighter and you have those kind of cards? Kinda hard to believe, really," the boy said, appearing to be taunting Shen.

"Hey, don't you dare go and think I'm not worthy of these cards. I found these cards on my own and I cherish them," Shen retorted.

The boy drew a card, "Whatever. Anyway, it's my turn. I ride Heaven Bow Seeker, Morvi!" He places the Grade 2 card on top of his Vanguard. "Now I call Bladgal Seeker and Seeker, Rune Eagle!" He calls the two units, Rune Eagle to the bottom left with Bladgal in front of it. "Supported by Hartmy, Morvi attacks your Vanguard along with Bladgal, who is supported by Rune Eagle!" He sends the attacks at Shen, "Drive Check," the boy drew a card and it was a Criticial Trigger, "Alright! All effects to Morvi!"

"I don't guard," Shen takes the damage, taking him to four and he drew three cards for the Damage Check, one of them being a Draw Trigger, in which he drew a card before the boy announced that his turn was over and Shen drew a card for the beginning of his turn, "Now...I'm going to win this!" Shen held up a card, "Now arise! Unleash a power that swallows light! I ride!" Shen slams his trump card, "Amber Dragon, Eclipse!"

"Nice...hey, how about we raise the stakes? If I win, I get that Eclipse card. And if you win, you get my best card," the boy said, smirking.

"YOUR best card? Yeah, you're not fooling me. I know what you did, thief. Stealing is wrong," Shen said, getting wide eyes from the boy before he grabbed a couple cards, "Now I call! Lava Arm Dragon and Inspire Yell Dragon as well as Amber Dragon, Dawn!" He calls the two units, with Lava Arm next to Eclipse on the left with Inspire Yell Dragon behind him and placing Dawn behind Volcano Gale.

"W-what are you talking about? I'm not a thief," the boy said, stammering a bit.

"Then I'll get you to tell me the truth by winning this fight! Supported by Blue Ray Dracokid, Eclipse attacks your Vanguard!" Shen announced.

"I intercept with Bladgal! And a guard with Blavogal Seeker!" The boy announces.

"Twin Drive!" Shen draws two cards, but no Triggers, so he puts them in his hand while the boy placed Bladgal and Blavogal into the Drop Zone, "Supported by Inspire Yell Dragon, Lava Arm attacks your Vanguard!"

"I don't guard," the boy draws a card and places it into the Damage Zone.

"Supported by Dawn, Volcano Gale attacks your Vanguard!" Shen announces.

"I don't guard," the boy draws a card and places it in the Damage Zone, bringing him to 3 damage, "Okay. That's it, I'm finishing this now!" The boy slammed a card on top of his Vanguard, and it was the stolen card, "Seeker, Light Saver Dragon! And now I call Sibergal Seeker, Seeker of Bravery Ars and finally Composed Seeker Lucius!" The three units were called, with Sibergal replacing Bladgal's spot and Ars took the last front spot with Lucius behind him.

"That card. I'm on a quest to get that back to the owner that you stole it from," Shen said.

"Shut up! Legion!" The boy places Seeker, Light Blaze Dragon on the left side of Light Saver, "Supported by Lucius, Ars attacks your Vanguard! Supported by Rune Eagle, Sibergal attacks your Vanguard! And supported by Hartmy, Light Blaze and Light Saver attacks your Vanguard as well!"

"Perfect Guard with Protect Orb Dragon!" Shen places the card in the Guard Circle and discards a card, the onslaught nullified while the kid drew two cards from the Twin Drive but with no luck. "Now, I'm going to be taking those two cards back to their rightful owner on this turn!"

"But I only have three damage! There's no way!" The boy cried out.

"Is it?" Shen said, drawing a card and smirks before raising it up, "Liberating the Generation Zone!" He slams a Grade 3 unit on his Drop Zone pile and in his imagination he was in the well known Stride Gate before he rose his hand into the air and made a fist, "Reveal it! The future I have sought after! Generation Stride!" His Vanguard circle appears before him before growing into a Stride Gate

On Cray in their imagination, a great dragon rose up in a pillar of flames, wielding a large spear as it stood tall over the opposing units

"T-that's…!" The boy cried out in shock.

"Flame Emperor Dragon King, Irresist Dragon!" Shen announced, "Now face the judgement of the dragons! I send out a full on assault!"

The boy gasped and looked at his hand, a Grade 1 and 0, the rest just being Grade 3s, "I guard!" The boy placed the two cards that he could guard with into the Guard Circle.

"Triple Drive!" Shen checks the top three cards, and to his satisfaction all three were Triggers. Two were a Critical and one was a draw trigger, "All effects to Irresist Dragon!"

On Cray, the massive dragon threw his spear at the Legion dragons, the flaming spear making contact and resulting in a massive explosion.

Moments later after the cardfight, Shen and Tai brought the cards back to the quest giver and had the bully apologize to him. Shen got his FICA signed, giving him the points for the quest and the two were now walking back to the card shop.

"Dude, that was awesome! That perfect guard was what you needed! And I knew that G-Unit would come in handy!" Tai said, congratulating Shen.

"Yeah! I'm glad I got Irresist Dragon when I did, or else I might not have been able to win that cardfight," Shen said to his friend.

"Well, I need to get home. It's getting late so I'll see you tomorrow," Tai said, running off.

Shen smiles and looks at his G-Unit, glad that he was able to get the card and that he was able to help someone out thanks to it.

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 **Krika: I hope you guys enjoyed the second chapter! More will be coming soon in the next chapter! And by next chapter, Shen will be greeted by an unexpected yet familiar friend.**


	3. The Joker Dragon

**Krika: Hey guys! Welcome to the third chapter of The Dragon Master! In this, I'll be showing a special power that Shen has that has been recently unlocked since he has gotten into Vanguard a lot more. Also I will be revealing the third and final OC of this story using a Clan that so far only one of the canon Vanguard G uses. Anyway, enjoy! Vanguard belongs to Bushiroad.**

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Two days have past since Shen has earned his first G-Unit and began his adventure to becoming a Grade 3 cardfighter. But right now...he's about to get a rude awakening. Literally.

"Hey Shen...Shen…...WAKE UP!"

"GAH!" Shen fell out of his bed and groans a bit before sitting up and rubbing his head, "Tai...that better not be you…"

"Yeah, not even close," Shen blinked a bit in confusion and looked up a bit and was greeted by Amber Dragon, Dawn who was a bit see-through, "About time you can hear me"

Shen gave a shocked scream, making Dawn cover his 'ears' with Shen backing up to a wall, a scared look on his face, "T-there's no way! There is no way that Amber Dragon, Dawn is standing right in front with of me!"

"You're half-right, kid. I'm not really here and this is most certainly not my current form," Dawn said, but sweat dropped when he saw Shen now in a fetal position in the corner, talking to himself.

"There's no way...this has got to be some kind of dream, or I'm going crazy. This isn't happening," Shen said, nervous lines on his face.

Dawn sighs and puts a paw on his face, "Great...you know what, I recommend you don't talk about this. Right now you're the only one that can see and hear me"

Shen stood up and turned to Dawn, "But...how are you here?"

"Simple. My body on Cray is in a deep slumber and I can only project myself right now in this...form," Dawn said, sounding a bit disappointed when he said 'form'.

"But...but I thought Cray was just an imaginary place in Vanguard," Shen said, growing to be a bit relaxed but still freaked out.

"That's what you humans think. Cray is as real a world as yours. All the units in your deck are actual dragons from the Kagero clan and in short from Dragon Empire," Dawn said to the young man.

"This is unreal...so Cray is a real place? All the nations, all the clans are really real?" Shen said, now starting to get excited.

"Well of course. But of course we had our own problems and in fact Cray is linked with Earth in some mysterious way. That's how I'm able to show myself to you in this way," the dragon said, hopping up to the bed.

"Really?" Shen asked.

"Yep. In fact very few of you humans here on Earth even know the existence of my home world," Dawn answered.

"I didn't know about that…" Shen said, and was about to say something until a woman's voice interrupted him.

"Shen? You alright up there?"

"I'm fine mom! Just...fell off my bed!" Shen said, feeling a bit bad at lying to his mother.

"Well okay then! Now hurry and get down here and get ready! You have school after all!"

"Okay! Be right there!" Shen responded.

After getting ready for school, and having a short conversation with Dawn, Shen headed towards his school, not really sure how he was going to keep this a secret.

"Hey Shen!" Tai called over, wearing the same school uniform as Shen, which Shen has known since the day he met Tai.

"Oh. Hey Tai," Shen said to him.

"First class is almost about to begin. Where were you?" Tai asked him.

"Oh...sorry. Got caught up with some things," Shen responded.

Right...like that doesn't sound suspicious… Dawn thought as he was standing next to Shen, and Tai couldn't see him.

"If you say so. Anyway, come on, let's get to class then afterwards we can stop by the card shop after school," Tai suggested.

"Sure. Let's get going," Shen said and they went to their first couple classes.

After school, the two went to the card shop again, with Tai and Shen getting their own booster packs and opening them.

"Aw man. No new Shadow Paladin units," Tai said, sighing a bit with anime depression lines hanging over his head.

"You're really adamant on the Shadow Paladins, huh?" Shen said, taking a card container out of his bag and placing his cards in there, with it being organized by nations and then clans.

"Well yeah. In fact the current Branch Manager of United Sanctuary uses the Shadow Paladins, and I aim to become a Clan Leader!" Tai said, making a fist with a determined look.

"Clan Leader, huh? I don't think I'm cut out to be one…" Shen said.

"Clan Leader? Pfft! As if! The only true Clan Leaders are the warriors of Cray that have earned that spot! Like Lord Dragonic Overlord!" Dawn exclaimed in irritation, referring to Dragonic Overlord being the leader of the Kagero clan.

Shen glanced at him and motioned him to shut up.

"Oh don't sell yourself short! With your pure Flame Dragon deck I'm sure you'll be a strong player! You might be able to take on Momoru! The Clan Leader of the Kagero!" Tai said with a smile.

"That's gonna have to take some training, ya know?" Kamui said, carrying some boxes.

"I know Kamui. But it's not like I'll be able to beat him with the way I am right now," Shen said, looking at his deck before getting a pat on the back from Tai.

"Don't worry. You'll get stronger," Tai said to him.

"Maybe you might fight Kai sometime. That is, if he ever shows up around Dragon Empire," Kamui said, tending to the desk.

"Huh? Who's Kai?" Shen asked.

"He's one of the best Kagero players ever. Though I haven't seen him in quite a while," Kamui said.

"His best card is Dragonic Overlord, which has changed over his Vanguard career," Tai added.

"Yeah. He'd be on par with Momoru if Kai was interested in being a Clan Leader," Kamui added onto the conversation.

"I'll explain it to you later, kid, on what happened a few years ago to my clan along with the Shadow and Royal Paladins," Dawn said to Shen.

 _Dawn…?_ Shen thought, looking a bit distracted to Tai and Kamui.

"Hey, Shen you okay?" Tai asked, feeling a bit worried for his friend.

"Huh? Oh, yeah. Sorry, been blanking out lately," Shen said. And that was an understatement since he blanked out due to Dawn talking to him during class.

"Maybe you need to head home and rest if that's happening. Seriously. If you're distracted you're going to get crushed in your card fights," Kamui said.

"He's right, you know? You'd be leaving yourself open all the time," Tai said.

"O...oh, okay. I got some work to do anyway. I'll see you guys tomorrow then," Shen said, leaving the card shop and heading back home.

"Something was up with Shen today…" Tai said, crossing his arms.

"What was wrong today?" Kamui asked.

"Well sometimes he'd be talking to himself and I'd hear him say 'Dawn'. The name of his signature Grade 0," Tai said, explaining to Kamui about what Shen has been doing.

"Maybe he's just tired. He was out doing quests like crazy yesterday, trying to get to Grade 2," Kamui said, thinking that was the reason Shen has been acting weird.

"I hope so…" Tai said worriedly.

Shen was walking home, looking at his deck, "Dawn...what were you talking about earlier?"

"A few years ago, a Clan came from out of nowhere and threatened to destroy Cray itself. They even went as far as sealing away the three strongest Clans. The Royal Paladins, the Shadow Paladins, and the Kagero. They sealed our leaders. Blaster Blade, Blaster Dark, and Dragonic Overlord," Dawn explained, thinking of the war.

"What Clan did that anyway?" Shen asked.

The exact same moment he said that, he bumped into someone, making him drop his cards, and another set of cards coming from the person he bumped into, "Oh. Sorry. Should have reacted when I saw you"

Shen looked up and was greeted by a young girl who looked no older than he was. Her hair was a purple color with it being just above her shoulders and she had bright orange eyes, though she had a blank look. She wore a female school uniform that Shen recognized being from his own school. The girl knelt down and started picking up the cards.

"Uh...oh! Sorry! I...I was distracted and...here, let me help," Shen stuttered and started helping before picking up a card that belonged to the girl and looks at it and blinks, "Huh? Astrobreak Dragon? I've never heard of this card before"

The girl takes the card out of his hand places it in her deck before handing him his own, "I use a clan not many people know about. It's called Link Joker"

"Link...Joker? You're right, I never heard about it," Shen said, standing up.

"Hmm...I know you. You're Shen Jira, right? You're a card fighter back at the school," the girl said to him.

"Yeah. And looking at your uniform we go to the same school. What's your name anyway?" Shen asked.

"Call me Tamari Sozo," the girl said to him.

"Sozo? Doesn't that mean creation?" Shen asked.

"I don't trust her if she's using Link Joker," Dawn said flatly.

Tamari placed her deck in a deck case and placed it in a bag, "Anyway…I need to get going. I need to head home and I take it you are as well?"

"Oh. Yeah. My friends said that I should take a break from card fights for now. I've been doing quests all day yesterday," Shen said to her, rubbing his head.

"That so? Well, since you're new to seeing Link Joker, although it was unintentional. Maybe you'd like to card fight me? I tend to be early to get home, so I have time for one game," Tamari said to him.

"Oh. Sure, I guess," Shen agreed, the both of them taking out their FICAs, with Tamari's being green, meaning she was a Grade 3, before turning them into tables and placed their G-Units, deck and starting Vanguard in their respective spots and they drew five cards.

"Now, we'll be in the spaceport of Star Gate, the home of the most advanced technology on Cray and where many beings that are not from Cray go to," Tamari said to him, explaining on where they will be fighting.

"I take it you chose this place is because Link Joker is from Star Gate?" Shen asked.

"You could say that. Now, let's get started," Tamari said, grabbing her starting Vanguard.

"Now stand up! Vanguard!" They both flipped over their cards and revealed their starting Vanguards, Tamari's Vanguard color being white.

"I ride Amber Dragon, Dawn!" Shen called out.

"I ride Micro-Hole Dracokid," Tamari called out.

"I'm going first. Draw," Shen drew a card, "Now I ride, Amber Dragon, Daylight," he announced, riding up to the next Grade and using Dawn's skill to find a Dusk card and placed it in his hand.

"Now it's my turn," Tamari said, drawing a card and grabbing one of the six, "I ride Gravity Ball Dragon," she places the card on top of her Vanguard, "Now activating Micro-Hole's skill. Since I rode Gravity Ball on him, I can search the top seven cards on top of my deck to search for either Gravity Collapse Dragon, or Schwarzschild Dragon," Tamari explained as she checked the top seven cards before placing them all back into her deck before shuffling.

 _She didn't find what she was looking for…_ Shen thought to himself _But still...I have no idea what Link Joker is even capable of. And I studied all of the current clans!_

"Now I call Protosun Dracokid," Tamari placed the card behind Gravity Ball, "Now I attack your Vanguard with Gravity Ball supported by Protosun"

"I don't guard," Shen said.

"Drive Check," Tamari checked her top card and found a Beloved Child of Superstring Theory, "Draw Trigger. Effects goes to Gravity Ball and I draw a card," she draws another card.

"Damage Check," Shen checks the top card and places it in his Damage Zone.

"That's the end of my turn," Tamari said to him.

Shen draws a card before placing Dusk on top of Daylight, "I ride Amber Dragon, Daylight! And now I call Lava Arm Dragon and Iron Tail Dragon to the rearguard," he calls the two units to the right, with Lava Arm being in the front and Iron Tail behind it.

"I see. You run a more offense based Kagero deck. Quite rare considering it's a defensive style clan," Tamari commented.

"I know, but I still have some cards that keep its special feature. Now, supported by Iron Tail, Lava Arm attacks your Vanguard! And when Lava Arm attacks, he gets an extra 2000 attack power!"

"I don't guard," Tamari said before checking the top card and placed it in the Damage Zone.

"Now I attack you with Dusk! And with Daylight in the soul, his attack power is increased by 1000. And when he attacks a Vanguard, he gains an extra 2000!" Shen announces.

"I guard with Paradox Nail Fenrir," Tamari places the card in the Guard Circle.

"Checking for a Drive Trigger," Shen checks the top card and places it in his hand after not finding a Trigger, "Your turn"

"Stand and draw," Tamari draws a card and looks at Shen, "I hope you're prepared to see what Link Joker can do. I ride! Gravity Collapse Dragon!" She places the card on top of her Vanguard, "Activating Gravity Collapse's skill! Since I rode it over Gravity Ball, Gravity Collapse gets an extra 1000 all time. And with Micro-Hole in the Soul, I can Lock one of your units"

"Lock? What does that mean?" Shen asked, unfamiliar with the term.

"Let me explain. If I attacked you with a unit with a large attack and you don't have that many cards in your hand, you would use your Lava Arm's intercept skill. Lock, however, can prevent you from doing that. But it can also have additional effects depending on the cards I use. And speaking of Lava Arm, I Lock him!" Tamari explained and announced.

Lava Arm is surrounded in a red sphere, unable to move at all.

"So that's Lock…" Shen said, in awe a bit at seeing this skill.

"Now I call Gamma Burst, Fenrir and Dark Metal Chameleon," Tamari announced, calling the cards to the left rearguard, with Fenrir to the front and Chameleon behind it. "Supported by Chameleon, Fenrir attacks your Vanguard"

"I'll guard with Volcano Gale Dragon!" Shen announced.

"Okay then. Supported by Protosun, Gravity Collapse attacks your Vanguard," Tamari announced.

"I guard with Blue Ray Dracokid!" Shen announced.

"Drive Check," Tamari checks the top card and it was an Asteroid Wolf, "Critical Trigger. All effects to Gravity Collapse"

Shen winces a bit and checks the top two cards, "No Trigger"

"Now you're at 3 damage. By the way, you can't unlock Lava Arm until the end of your turn," Tamari added.

"Say what?!" Shen said, shocked a bit.

"Be lucky I didn't use Omega Lock, an evolved Lock ability, or else you wouldn't be able to unlock it normally," Tamari said flatly, no expression at all from her.

"Oh man. That's an amazing ability. Is Link Joker the only Clan that's able to do that?" Shen asked.

"Yes. It's their signature ability. Every clan has a special ability that's unique to them only. In the case of your clan, Kagero, it's Blaze," Tamari said.

"Okay then. Stand and draw," Shen said, drawing a card and raises a card, "Now let's go! Burn in everything in your path to ashes! Ride!" He places his Avatar on his Vanguard, "Amber Dragon, Eclipse!"

"So that's your ace, huh?" Tamari said, looking slightly interested, but it was...kinda hard to tell.

"Now I call Berserk Dragon and Dawn!" Shen places Berserk on the left top rearguard circle and Dawn behind Eclipse before flipping over two cards in the Damage Zone, "Activating Berserk Dragon's Counter Blast! I retire Chameleon!"

Tamari placed Chameleon into the Drop Zone, "There's a card that fits Kagero's fighting style"

"Berserk Dragon attacks your Vanguard!" Shen announced.

"I don't guard," Tamari said, checking her Damage Check before placing it in the Damage Zone.

"Supported by Dawn, Eclipse attacks your Vanguard!" Shen announced.

"I guard with Asteroid Wolf," Tamari said.

"Twin Drive," Shen checks the top two cards and smirks when he found a Critical Trigger, "Alright! I give all effects to Eclipse!"

Tamari checks the top two cards and places them in the Damage Zone, leaving her with four damage, "Impressive. But now I think it's my turn"

"Go right ahead," Shen said, unlocking Lava Arm Dragon.

Tamari drew a card after standing her units and smirks, "Finally...let me show you...the power of Link Joker!" She rose a card up, "Now arise! The one who formed the asteroid belt! Ride!" She places the same Grade 3 that Shen first saw when they bumped into each other, "Astrobreak Dragon!"

"So that's your Avatar…" Shen said, looking at the card.

"I'm not done yet…" Tamari said, grabbing a card and shows it, with it being Mirror-World Lion, a Grade 3 and Shen widened his eyes when he realized what she was planning, "Liberating the Generation Zone!" She places Lion in the Drop Zone before she imagined herself in the Stride Gate, placing her hands to her chest, "Many possibilities...show them all to me! Generation Stride!"

A massive dragon appears, with the signature colors of Link Joker units.

"What...is that?" Shen asked, his eyes wide.

"Nebula Dragon, Maximum Seal Dragon!" Tamari announced before attacking with the G-Unit.

"I guard with Gattling Claw and Iron Tail!" Shen announced.

"Triple Drive," Tamari announced, checking the top two cards and two of them were Critical Triggers, "All effects to Maximum Seal Dragon!"

Shen gave a shout when he imagined the attack in full detail before checking the top three cards and sighed when he couldn't find a Trigger, "I lost…"

"Practice more and get strong enough to beat me. But I have to admit. I...actually enjoyed myself," Tamari said, collecting her cards.

"Me too. It was fun playing against someone who uses a clan I never heard of," Shen said, collecting his own cards and looks to where Dawn was and sweatdrops when he saw that he had his back turned and a menacing aura around him.

"I can't believe you lost...and against a clan that was my clan's enemy a few years back," Dawn said.

 _He has some issues…_ Shen thought to himself.

"Anyway, I need to get going," Tamari said, walking off.

"Hey! Why not stop by Card Capital sometime and we can play again!" Shen said to her.

Tamari just gave him a wave, "Fine. But don't tell anyone about me using Link Joker. There's some people who have a bad history with the clan and I don't want them on my tail"

Shen was very confused by that statement, "Um...okay…" he just headed back home.

As Tamari was heading home, she went through an alleyway and stopped, "I know you're there...Ibuki"

Kouji Ibuki walked from behind a corner behind her, "You have keen senses as usual, Tamari"

"I told you before. I don't care what you're doing in the United Sanctuary Branch. I'm not interested so buzz off," Tamari said in a cold tone.

"Don't worry. I won't be pestering you on 'that' again. I came to tell you about an interesting person that will no doubt be earning some reputation. If you hear the words Gear Chronicle, you'll understand" Ibuki said to her.

Tamari turned around and found that he was gone, "Ibuki...what exactly are you planning?"

* * *

 **Krika: And there you have it! Link Joker! A clan that was debuted in season three of Vanguard and had its own movie! But what is the connection between Tamari and Ibuki? And how did Tamari get Link Joker cards in the first place? Stay tuned for the next chapter, where the events of Vanguard G begin!**


	4. Draco Formation!

**Krika: Hey guys! Welcome back to The Dragon Master! This chapter will be starting the story into the plot of Vanguard G, GIRS Crisis, Stride Gate, and NEXT in order. If I mess anything up, PLEASE tell me what and I'll get it fixed. Anyway, enjoy the chapter! Vanguard belongs to Bushiroad.**

* * *

Things have been quite eventful for Shen the last couple days. He got his first G-Unit, met Amber Dragon, Dawn, a creature from the planet Cray, and battled Tamari Sozo, a user of the Link Joker clan. Yes, his life has taken quite the strange turn since he started to get more into Vanguard. But right now, after four days, rumors started to arise about a mysterious clan called Gear Chronicle.

"Oh come on. You gotta know something, Dawn," Shen asked the dragon, referring to the new clan.

"And I keep telling you. I know nothing about a clan called Gear Chronicle. I've been around for many years and I've never heard of them," Dawn responded, sounding a bit irritated towards the human pestering him about the mysterious clan.

"Well...okay. Maybe heading to Card Capital will help. Kamui seems to know more about it than anyone," Shen said, grabbing his deck, which he has fine tuned over the last few days, and headed towards the card shop.

* * *

Once Shen got there, he saw Tamari, who was standing in front of the shop, ready to head in. She was wearing a red tank top with a grey, unzipped jacket and grey shorts with white shoes.

 _Gear Chronicle...it's just like what Ibuki said…_ Tamari thought to herself.

"Hey Tamari!" Shen called out, catching her attention.

"Shen? What are you doing here?" She asked him.

"I came here to get some information on something," Shen responded.

"I think I know what you're talking about. The new clan everyone's been talking about," Tamari said to him.

"Should have known you've heard about it. Kamui says that he fought the guy who uses this Gear Chronicle clan," Shen said, looking at the store.

Tamari didn't say anything and just walked into the store, making Shen sweatdrop and follow her into the store and saw the commotion in the store, "Looks like people are riled up"

"Makes you wonder why…" Tamari said.

"Well, let's go check it out," Shen said as he and Tamari moved into the crowd and saw what people were crowding around.

"Wait. Isn't that…?" Tamari said, recognizing a certain boy with red hair with a pink swirl.

"Chrono Shindou? What's he doing here? I never knew he played Vanguard," Shen said, confused at seeing one of his classmates, even knowing how Chrono normally is, in a cardfight.

"Neither did I. I always thought he wasn't interested in such things, considering he'd always distanced himself from everyone," Tamari responded, thinking to how Chrono is at school.

"Yeah…and who is he fighting?" Shen asked before they saw Tai on the opposite end of the table, "Tai?"

"Friend of yours?" Tamari asked.

"Yeah. He uses the Shadow Paladins and he's pretty good at using them," Shen said.

"But it looks like he's backed into the corner with five damage and Chrono only has three," Tamari said, referring to the damage that both the fighters have.

"Liberating the Generation Zone!" Chrono called out and placed a Grade 3 in the Drop Zone, "Show me the realization of my image! Generation Stride!"

"Not good…" Tai said, feeling a bit nervous.

"Interdimensional Dragon, Mystery-Flare Dragon!" Chrono called out the name of his G-Unit before the attack hit, Tai's damage reaching six.

"Man...that was pretty good Chrono. Now I know what Gear Chronicle is all about," Tai said, complimenting the fellow fighter.

 _He's the one with the Gear Chronicle deck? Was Ibuki talking about this guy?_ Tamari thought, narrowing her eyes.

Everyone who saw the cardfight started talking with Chrono, with said person responding to the conversations.

 _You wouldn't think he's the same guy at school…_ Shen thought to himself.

After Chrono left the card shop, and looking in pain after talking with Tokoha Anjou, Shen and Tamari were talking with Tai.

"So...what's up Shen?" Tai asked his friend.

"Nothing much. Except for finding out who exactly is using the Gear Chronicle clan," Shen responded.

"Yeah. And Chrono played like a seasoned cardfighter. I'm definitely going to get better for sure," Tai said before looking at Tamari, "Oh? Who are you?"

"Tamari Sozo," Tamari responded.

"Oh, yeah. You're that quiet girl at school. I'm guessing you're a cardfighter? What clan do you use?" Tai asked.

"I use the Narukami clan," Tamari responded, obviously lying about her main clan.

 _She must have been serious about keeping her main clan a secret…but why?_ Shen thought, glancing at her.

"Narukami, huh? Well, we'll have to cardfight sometime," Tai said with a smile.

"Sure," Tamari said, not showing all that much emotion really.

"Anyway...Shen, you only need a few more quests until you're Grade 2, right? So, let's get to work!" Tai said, dragging Shen to the quest board.

 _Odd bunch…_ Tamari thought to herself.

"Now come on, we need to get you up to Grade 2 as soon as possible. That way, people can recognize you being a seasoned cardfighter," Tai said, encouraging Shen.

"Okay, okay. I'll probably do two. Or maybe enter a tournament," Shen said, looking at all the quests.

"Hey, a tournament doesn't sound bad. Of course the big leagues will require you to be Grade 3 or higher. I'm already one myself," Tai said, showing his FICA.

"Me as well," Tamari said, walking over.

"Then I need to catch up to the both of you. And Tai...I want to beat you when you're fighting seriously. The first time we had a cardfight you held back because I was still relatively new to the game. When I become a Grade 2, I want to have another cardfight," Shen said to him.

Tai smirked and gave a thumbs up, "Okay! It's a promise! But know I'll be improving my deck to make sure I don't fall behind!"

Shen smiled before seeing one quest, "Hey, look at this. 'A team tournament sponsored by FIVA is being held at the Star Gate Branch. Fighters Grade 1 and above are welcomed to participate'. Team tournament, eh?"

"For Vanguard team tournaments, the maximum team number is three. Of course most teams have extra members to switch out from time to time," Tai explained.

"Okay. So who are we going to be making our third member?" Shen asked before he and Tai slowly looked at Tamari, who blinked in surprise.

"Wait...you want me to join your team?" Tamari asked, sounding surprised.

"We don't exactly know anyone else who we can ask. Plus you're the most convenient option," Tai said.

"Come on Tamari. I'm sure you'll enjoy yourself. Especially with this tournament possibly being filled with all kinds of strong opponents," Tai said.

"Hmm…okay, fine. I'll join your team. But you two do realize we need a team name to register, right?" Tamari said, crossing her arms.

"Eh, we'll think about it on the way there!" Tai said, Shen and Tamari sweatdropping at his care-free attitude before they all accepted the quest and went home to get all of their stuff ready for the tournament, since it wasn't going to start in the next three hours.

At Tamari's place, she was working on tuning her main deck. She lays out all of her Link Joker cards and starts rebuilding the deck. "My first tournament...and it's over in the Star Gate branch...but...why exactly did I agree to join those two? I don't even know them all that well except for the fact we attend the same school," she sighed and got her decks ready and left her house.

At Tai's house, he was tuning his Shadow Paladin deck, "Okay...first ever team tournament I've been in. Time to win this and get Shen to Grade 2," he said to himself and smiled before leaving.

At Shen's, he was looking at his deck, Dawn sitting on the bed, "You look pretty nervous," the dragon said to the boy.

"Well how can I not be? I'm just a Grade 1 and both Tai and Tamari are Grade 3. I'm scared I'll let them down when they're counting on me the most," Shen responded.

Dawn sighs, "Look. Take it from me kid and don't let that bother you. If you do let it bother you, then you'll perform terribly, right? Just do what you do best"

"Okay...if you say so Dawn," Shen said before getting ready and leaves his house. Of course the three of them told their parents where they were going and why. They all met up at the train station and took the train that got them to the Star Gate branch and found the building that the tournament was being held in.

Tai makes an impressed whistle, "Wow. Pretty big place. I figured it'd be small"

"Well, it is a team tournament after all. Speaking of which, what exactly are we going to name our team?" Tamari asked.

"Hmm...well, me and Shen have avatars that are dragons. What about you Tamari?" Tai asked the female cardfighter.

"Mine is a dragon as well," Tamari responded.

"Okay! Then we'll call ourselves Team Draco! Draco is Latin for dragon, so it fits perfectly for us!" Tai said, sounding proud about the name.

"Team Draco, huh? Well, it is pretty catchy," Shen said, agreeing with the team name.

"Anything works. Now let's get registered," Tamari said, walking into the building with the other two and they saw many other cardfighters inside. Some were little kids while others were either the same age or were older than them.

"Geez. Lots of people here. This is definitely not going to be easy," Shen said, feeling a little nervous.

"Ah, don't worry. If we focus then we'll breeze through towards the finals!" Tai said out loud, catching the attention of some of the more veteran-looking cardfighters.

Shen chuckled nervously and pushed Tai towards the registrar with Tamari, "Um...we'd like to register for the tournament?"

"Of course. And you three came just in time too. You managed to get the last spot in time. Now you need to register your team name and I want you to write down your personal information on these sheets. It's basic stuff, like your name, age, and what clan you prefer to use," the registrar said, handing them the pieces of paper and they wrote down their information, with Tamari placing Link Joker as her main clan.

 _This is a tournament...so I need to perform at my best…_ Tamari thought to herself as she got done writing down her information.

After they turned in the paper, along with registering their team name, the three were ready for the tournament.

"Okay! Now we're ready for the tournament!" Tai said excitedly.

"Don't get carried away. We're not even sure what our competition is even capable of," Tamari said to him.

"She's right, Tai. And I don't think any of them will be going easy on us thanks to your outburst earlier," Shen added.

"If anything the cardfighters who have a higher Grade will be making it later in the tournament. There are possibly a lot of skilled fighters here that we need to watch out for," Tamari said, looking at all of the cardfighters around them.

"We'll be fine. And I'm sure Shen will do pretty well since he's pretty skilled at using his Kagero deck," Tai said.

"It's best you don't jinx yourself too early on, or else you'll get destroyed"

The three turned and saw another team walking up to them. Who they assumed was the leader wore a black and blue suit and he had smooth white hair and blue eyes. The other two with him were the same age as Shen, Tai, and Tamari. One of the two was a young boy wearing a grey unzipped jacket with a red turtle-neck underneath with blue jeans, he had spiky red hair and pink colored eyes. The last one was a girl with long black hair and eyes. She wore a simple white dress with a black and white checker pattern going across it.

"Who are you three?" Tai asked them.

"Team Chaos. They're well known across Star Gate, but haven't done any major championships" Tamari said.

"My name is Kabaru Yunura. I'm the leader of the team," The guy in the suit said, introducing himself.

"My name is Fuyu Kacha," the young girl said next.

"And I'm Aki Ame. You three are...Dragon Empire folk, right? I think you'll find that your overconfidence will get you beat in tournaments real fast" Aki said with a grin.

"Is that a challenge?" Tai said, narrowing his eyes.

"It's just that you three are probably here for a reason. One of you needs to get bumped up to the next Grade," Fuyu said, looking closely at the two.

"And if that's the case, then one of you is just dead weight to the rest of your team," Aki added, taunting the team.

"Hey, I'm not a burden!" Shen shouted, but he realized that was a mistake responding.

"Well. Looks like we found the weakest link. This will be easy," Aki said, smirking.

"Leave him alone, or else," Tamari said, narrowing her eyes dangerously.

"Oh yeah? And what are you going to do about it?" Aki said to her, and we about to continue until Kabaru stopped him.

"There's no need to waste your breath on them. But I will tell you three that we'll be the strongest opponents you'll ever face in this tournament," the leader said to them before he and his teammates leave them.

Tai growled, "Those jerks. Who do they think they are?"

"They show no mercy to their opponents. I anticipated that they'd be here so I rebuilt my entire deck," Tamari said.

"Good. Because we're going to show those guys we're no pushovers," Tai said, clenching his fists.

"Yeah...but...what if I lose? They might do those regulation team eliminations. Two losses and you're out," Shen said, feeling a bit disheartened at what Aki said to him.

"Then don't worry. After all you're still fairly new. If you lose, then me and Shen will beat them," Tamari said to him.

"She's right. And don't doubt your own skill, you'll be fine! You've built a pretty strong Kagero deck after all," Tai said, patting Shen's back.

"If we end up facing them. Leave Kabaru to me. I've got an ace that I've been waiting to try out," Tamari said.

"Okay. I'll take care of that Aki guy. He's gonna pay for insulting Shen," Tai said.

"Thanks you guys," Shen said, smiling.

"Now, let's get started! Team Draco will be the new champions of this tournament!" Tai announced, his fist in the air.

* * *

 **Krika: And now we have the formation of Team Draco! And it seems they have some rivals already. But what has Tamari turn her Link Joker deck into? And what sort of ace does she have up her sleeve to use against the leader of Team Chaos? All questions will be answered in the next chapter!**


	5. Dragon vs Shadow Pt 1

**Krika: Hey guys! Welcome to the fifth chapter of The Dragon Master! In this chapter, Team Draco will be advancing through the Star Gate branch tournament. The finals of the tournament will be split up into two parts, since it takes a lot of time to think out on how the cardfights will go. Anyway, enjoy the chapter! Vanguard belongs to Bushiroad.**

* * *

The Star Gate branch tournament has begun, and Team Draco has been performing quite well. To build up on his experience, Shen has been taking on multiple fighters from the various other teams. Speaking of which….

"Liberating the Generation Zone!" Shen called out, placing a Grade 3 in the Drop Zone, "Grasp the future! And see what lies ahead! Generation Stride!"

Shen called Flame Emperor Dragon King, Irresist Dragon and managed to land the attack and drew a Critical Trigger, dealing the last two damage against the opposing fighter.

"And Shen from Team Draco secures the victory of his team by defeating Lin from Team Beauty! And with that, Team Draco moves on to next round!" An announcer said.

"Nice job dude! I was a bit worried during the middle of the game, but you pulled through!" Tai said, high-fiving Shen.

"Thanks man! This tournament has gotten me pumped! I'm sure we'll make it to the finals!" Shen said excitedly.

"You bet! Though...someone should at least contribute," Tai said, looking at Tamari, "You haven't participated in a single fight yet. I think you should take the next one then me. It's fair after all"

"Okay. Fine. Might as well send a message to Team Chaos of what I'm capable of," Tamari said, getting her deck out.

"By the way...what clan do you really use? I took a glance at your registration paper and I didn't see Narukami as your main. I couldn't make out what the clan you wrote down was and I've been meaning to ask you," Tai said, crossing his arms.

Tamari sighed and showed one of her G-Units to him, "I use a clan that very few people use nowadays. It's called Link Joker. I was hoping to wait until the finals to show people as a surprise. But guess not"

"Okay...what kind of stuff can the units from that clan do? They must have something unique about them," Tai asked.

"You'll have to wait until our next fight. I'll go first so you know what this clan is all about," Tamari responded and they went to a break room to think of a strategy.

"Anyway...who are we fighting next?" Shen asked and Tamari got out some papers with information on them.

"Team Shadow. Shady looking guys and they all use clans from the Dark Zone nation. One of them uses Pale Moon, the other two use Dark Irregulars," Tamari explained, reading off the info.

"I'm guessing the leader is the one who uses Pale Moon?" Tai asked.

"Yes. He's pretty skilled at using the special ability that the clan is known for. And his two teammates are no pushovers either. And I managed to spot a pattern in their turns. The leader always goes first. Probably to secure an easy victory. And then the two others take turns, but I've had a hard time in figuring out the difference in skill between them," Tamari explained.

"Okay. So I take it you'll go first to take on their leader. And then we'll switch out with me going next. If I end up losing, then Shen will go next if we're at a stalemate," Tai said, explaining their turn strategy.

"Makes sense. Okay then, well, we'll definitely have our hands full with this team," Shen said.

"Well let's get going. Team Shadow is probably ready and we shouldn't keep them waiting," Tamari said.

* * *

Walking out of the break room with Tai and Shen where they saw the other team, who were cloaked in black and had odd opera masks, two of them were blue while the other was a red, possibly signifying that he was the leader.

"Freaky…" Tai said, feeling a bit unnerved at looking at the three.

"Must be a fear tactic to gain an upper hand on their opponent. Get them unnerved and they'll make mistakes," Tamari said, thinking of why they're wearing the outfits.

"Okay then folks! Now we'll have two teams who have shown incredible skill! Team Draco and Team Shadow! And let's see who will be going first!" The announcer said.

The cloaked figure with the red mask stepped up to the table with Tamari stepping up as well, "So, you're the wild card of your team. Kind of selfish with how you've just been standing on the sidelines since your last few victories," the leader said to her, but not getting a reaction from her.

"I was hoping to make my abilities a surprise for Team Chaos when we faced them. Catch them off guard. But I guess not. Now let's get started already," Tamari said, shuffling her deck and drawing five cards and placing her G-Units in the G-Zone, the leader doing the same.

"Fine then, girlie. We'll see how tough you act when I have you at my mercy," The leader said, chuckling darkly.

Tamari's eyebrow just twitched as an anime tic mark appeared on her head, obviously annoyed by that statement, "We'll see about that"

"Now stand up! Vanguard!" They both called out and flipped their cards over.

"I ride Hades Ringmaster!" The leader called out.

"I ride Black Hole Dracokid!" Tamari called out, the unit she called as her starting Vanguard being black, red, and white with deep red eyes and red rings circling on its arms, legs and behind it. **(Black Hole Dracokid is a fan-made Vanguard card by me, no art available, only this description. Power is the average power of a Grade 0 of 5000 and has the Forerunner skill)**

"Black Hole Dracokid? She changed her starting Vanguard?" Shen said in surprise.

"So she's got more cards you've never heard of, huh? This should be interesting," Tai said, crossing his arms.

"I'll start off first. I draw. And now I ride Cosmos Dracokid," Tamari said, placing the Grade 1 on top of her Vanguard. **(Same thing for Cosmos Dracokid. No actual cards for this unit. Has the average attack power of a Grade 1 of 7000 and has an ability where whenever a Link Joker unit rides over this, choose one of your opponent's rearguard and Lock it)** The dragon was mainly white and red with bright white eyes and miniature stars floating around it along with a red ring circling behind it. Tamari then moved Black Hole behind her Vanguard due its skill, "I end my turn"

"Draw. I ride Skull Juggler. And thanks to both Hades Ringmaster and Skull Juggler's skills, I can Soul Charge two times," the leader placed two cards from the top of his deck into the soul of his Vanguard, "Now I call Beginner Juggler Dracokid and Poison Juggler," the leader places the units on the top left circle for the Dracokid, and Poison Juggler was placed behind his Vanguard., "Activating his skill. I'll add the top card from my deck into the soul," the leader checked the top card and it was a Grade 2 and he placed it into his soul, "Supported by Poison Juggler, Skull Juggler attacks your Vanguard"

"I don't guard," Tamari called.

"Drive Check," The leader checked the top card in his deck and placed it in his hand after not finding a Trigger, and Tamari placed a card in her Damage Zone, "Now Beginner Juggler attacks your Vanguard"

"No guard. Damage check," Tamari checked the top card and it was a Draw Trigger, "Draw Trigger. I get to draw a card," she placed the damage card into her Damage Zone and drew a card from the effect and drew a card in her stand and draw phase.

"Her hand is going up steadily. She'll have plenty of units to both guard and call if she keeps this up," Tai said.

"Yeah. But I think she's just getting started with this guy," Shen added.

"Now I ride Meteoroid Dragon," **(And yet another card that is not an actual card. Average power of a Grade 2 of 9000 with a counter blast (1) skill that allows it to unlock a locked unit and add 2000 power)** Tamari rode the new unit, the dragon being larger and looking like an evolved form of Cosmos Dracokid, but with the ring being much larger and the dragon having large, mechanical wings, "Activating Cosmos' ability. If I ride a Link Joker unit over it, I can choose one of your rearguard and Lock it. And that unit is your Poison Juggler"

Poison Juggler's card is flipped face down with red sparks jumping off of it.

"Now I'll call White Night Renrir and Paradox Nail Fenrir to the rearguard," Tamari called the two units, Paradox Nail on the top right with White Night behind it.

"She's going on the offensive now," Shen commented.

"Supported by White Night, Paradox Nail attacks your Vanguard," Tamari called out.

"I don't guard," the leader called out, performing a damage check and placing the top card into the Damage Zone.

"Now I'll activate Meteoroid's Counter Blast. With it I can unlock one of your rearguard and add 2000 power! Unlocking Poison Juggler!" Tamari called out as said card was unlocked while paying the cost for the Counter Blast, Meteoroid gaining the power boost and leaving him with 11000 power, "Now, supported by Black Hole, Meteoroid attacks Skull Juggler!"

"I don't guard," the leader called out.

"Let's see what the Drive Check has to say," Tamari checked the top card and revealed a Critical Trigger, "Trigger activated. All effects to Meteoroid"

The leader grunted in annoyance and checked the top two cards and placed them into the Damage Zone, "You have some skills with that Clan"

"I've had plenty of practice with this clan since its reveal," Tamari explained to him.

"That so? Well then, stand and draw," The leader stood his units and drew a card before picking one from his hand, "I'll ride Hellsgate Magician!" He rides the Grade 2 unit and grins, "Now I'll activate his skill. By paying one damage and doing a Soul Blast, I can call a Grade 2 or less unit from the soul!" He pays the cost and placed a card from the soul into the drop zone and called Darkside Princess to the rearguard circle next to Hellsgate on the right, "And Darkside Princess gets a 5000 power bonus due to Hellsgate's ability. And I call Brassie Bunny to the rearguard!" He places the unit behind Beginner Juggler Dracokid.

"Pale Moon's signature skill. Calling units from the soul. How is Tamari going to counter this onslaught?" Tai said as he watched the battle.

"I think she's going to let two attacks through," Shen commented.

"You think so?" Tai said, looking at him, "You seem to know what she's capable of"

"I only had one cardfight with her. But if anything it felt like she was holding back against me..." Shen said, waiting for the next move.

"Darkside Princess attacks Meteoroid! And with her skill, she gains an extra 5000 power when attacking a Vanguard!"

"I guard!" Tamari places Asteroid Wolf and Dark Metal Chameleon into the Guardian Circle.

"Darkside Princess heads back to the soul of Hellsgate. Now supported by Brassie Bunny, my Dracokid attacks your Vanguard!"

"I don't guard," Tamari took the damage and checked the top card on her deck and places it into the Damage Zone after not finding a Trigger.

"Now, supported by Poison Juggler, Hellsgate attacks your Vanguard!"

"I don't guard," Tamari announced.

The masked leader did a Drive Check and got a Critical Trigger, "All effects to Hellsgate"

Tamari checked the top two cards and didn't find a Trigger and placed the two cards in the Damage Zone, _Five Damage...and four to use for a Counter Blast. Perfect._

"Both Darkside and Brassie head back into the soul," the masked man placed the two cards back into the soul of his Vanguard.

"Stand and draw," Tamari drew her card and smirked, "Just what I needed. You're going to see what I'm made of you masked creep"

The masked leader narrowed his eyes under his mask, "What did you just say? You think you can end it this turn? I think you're sorely mistaken"

"As long as I have Link Joker by my side, I'm sure of anything!" Tamari held up a card and Shen knew exactly what card it was.

"She's using her avatar now!" Shen said.

"Now unleash! Break the stars and let loose! Ride! Astrobreak Dragon!" Tamari rode her avatar.

"So that's her avatar. Astrobreak Dragon, huh?" Tai said, looking a bit impressed.

"And do you see that look in her eye? She looks serious. Must have been that comment he said before they started their fight," Shen said.

"Now call! Paradise Elk and Protosun Dracokid!" Tamari called the two units on the last two spots of her rearguard.

"She's going all out here. Full rearguard," Tai commented.

"That may be so...but I think she doesn't plan on finishing this on this turn," Shen said, knowing that something was up.

"Supported by Protosun, Paradise attacks your Vanguard!"

"Guard!" The masked man used a Dynamite Juggler to block the attack.

"Supported by White Night, Paradox will attack your Beginner Juggler!" Tamari announced.

"She's taking out the rearguard now, leaving him with less attacks," Tai said, growing more and more interested at her quick change in strategy.

"She's definitely playing like a pro," Shen added.

"I don't guard," the masked leader let the attack through and Beginner Juggler was sent to the drop zone.

"Supported by Black Hole, Astrobreak attacks your Vanguard! And paying for Counter Blast. Adding 3000 power!" Tamari placed one of her damage cards face down, leaving her with just three unspent cards left.

"No guard," the leader announced and Tamari checked the top two cards with Twin Drive and managed to pull another Critical Trigger and a Draw Trigger.

"Critical and Draw Trigger. All boosts in power and critical go to Astrobreak and I can draw a card," the attack went through, evening the damage to five each.

"Amazing! Tamari evened out the damage to five! Will Tarugami, the leader of Team Shadow, be able to finish it this turn?!" The announcer said excitedly.

"So that's your name," Tamari said, glancing to the audience and seeing Ibuki there, _Ibuki? What the heck..._

"Stand and draw. I'm going to finish this on this turn!" Tarugami announced before grabbing a few cards, "I ride! Barking Wyvern!" he rode the Grade 3, "Call! Darkside Princess and Barking Cerberus!"

"He's getting ready for something big," Tai said.

"A Generation Stride..." Shen hypothesized.

"Generation Stride!" Tarugami placed a Grade 3 into the Drop Zone and called his G-Unit, "Curtain Call Announcer, Mephisto!"

"Generation Stride...bring it," Tamari said, taunting the masked cardfighter, irritating him.

"Why you...supported by Poison Juggler, Mephisto attacks your Vanguard!"

"I'll use a Perfect Guard!" Tamari announced, using Lady Keeper of Virtual Reality to guard it and places both that and a card she discarded for the effect into the drop zone.

"Triple Drive," Tarugami checks the top three cards, finding two Draw Triggers, "Heh. Two Draw Triggers. I can draw two more cards and I'll give effects evenly to Darkside and Cerberus," he said as he drew two more cards and both his rearguard get the power boosts.

"So that's how you're doing it..." Tamari said.

"Darkside attacks Paradox Nail, and Cerberus attacks Paradise!" Tamaguri announced.

"Grr...I don't guard," Tamari said reluctantly as she sent her two rearguard to the drop zone.

"I'm glad she didn't take any damage. But she lost two more rearguard units. Not only that but that guy has more hand cards than her. I don't think she can win this," Tai said, a bit irritated.

"Hey Tai...don't count me out yet. I have a feeling this turn will be different," Tamari said as she stood her units and drew a card before looking at it and gets a smirk, "This is just the card I needed. Now you'll face the true power of Link Joker!"

"That card she drew...it's probably her trump card," Shen said.

Tamari spun the card in her hand and grabbed it before raising it up, "Now let's go! Shatter the stars and start anew! Reveal a dragon reborn! Crossride!" She slams the card on top of her Vanguard and her Vanguard circle appeared largely around her new Vanguard.

"A Crossride?!" Tamaguri exclaimed.

The Vanguard that Tamari rode looked like Astrobreak Dragon, only that it had actual arms with claws and five large red rings behind it in a circle. Eight wings coming from its back and a long white tail ending in a sickle, defined fangs noticeable on its maw and a sinister 'grin' on it, "Nebulabreak Dragon!" **(Nebulabreak Dragon. Attack power is 1100 and can Crossride and has a Limit Break (4) that costs a Counter Blast of 2 to activate. Crossride works like any other. The Limit Break can allow Nebulabreak to Lock as many of the enemy rearguard as long as they have less or equal to your rearguard, while adding 1000 for each Locked rearguard. If the amount of opposing Locked units is five, Nebulabreak can gain an extra Critical)**

"Nebulabreak...Dragon?" Shen said, looking surprised at the new card.

"With Astrobreak in the soul, Nebulabreak gets 2000 power added all time! Also...Limit Break ability activate!" Tamari announced, as her Vanguard circle appears above Nebulabreak.

"A Limit Break too?!" Tamaguri exclaimed, not liking what's going on.

"By paying for the Counter Blast, and as long as the amount of rearguard that you have is equal or less than mine, I can lock them all!" Tamari explained the effects of the ability as all of Tamaguri's rearguard are locked, "There goes your Intercept! And for every Locked rearguard, Nebulabreak gains 1000 power each! And with three, that's 3000 added!"

"Man, that's some Vanguard she's got," Tai said, looking on in awe.

"So this is her true power," Shen added.

"Now...supported by Black Hole, Nebulabreak attacks your Vanguard!" Tamari announced.

"I'll guard!" Tamaguri announced, placing three Grade 1 units in the Guard Circle.

"Twin Drive!" Tamari checked the top two cards and both were Critical Triggers, "All effects to Nebulabreak! You're going down! Nebula Supernova!"

Nebulabreak charges a mass of black and red energy before blasting the sphere of energy at Barking Wyvern, causing a massive explosion and Tamaguri placed the last card into the Damage Zone and he placed his hands on the table, looking down in defeat, "No...way...how can I...be defeated?"

Tamari collected her cards and looked back to the audience and Ibuki was gone, _Ibuki...what's your purpose of being here?_

"Hey Tamari! That was so awesome! You totally mopped the floor with that guy!" Shen shouted with a smile, getting her attention.

"O-oh. Yeah, thanks," She walked back to them, "Anyway...you're up Tai. Show them what we're made of"

"You got it. I'm sure it won't be so hard since you probably shook them up with that display," Tai said with a smirk as he walked up to the table and the next guy from Team Shadow walked up as well.

"Let's get this done and over with," The blue masked figure said to him and they got ready for the next battle.

"Bring it on. I'll show you the power of the Shadow Paladins!" Tai said with a smirk.

* * *

 **Krika: Part one of Team Draco vs Team Shadow is done! Man, it took me some time to figure out some good cards to make up that Tamari can use. But it was worth it! Anyway, stay tuned for the next chapter! Part two before the climax of the Star Gate tournament that Team Draco is attending!**


	6. Dragon vs Shadow Pt 2

**Krika: Hey guys! Welcome back to The Dragon Master. This will be part two of the tournament Cardfight between Team Draco and Team Shadow. Enjoy! Bushiroad owns all rights to Vanguard, both card game and anime.**

* * *

"Stand up! Vanguard!" Both Tai and one of the three members of Team Shadow said as they flipped over their starting Vanguards.

"Promising Knight, David!" Tai called out.

"Devil in Shadow!" The Team Shadow member called out.

"I'll go first. I ride Darkquartz Dragon!" Tai called out, riding to the next Grade and moving David behind Darkquartz, "That's my turn"

The Team Shadow member drew a card, "I'll ride Rune Weaver and move Devil in Shadow to the rearguard," he rode the unit and called his starting Vanguard to the bottom right RC, "Now I'll call another Rune Weaver and place a Dark Irregulars from my hand into the soul," he called the second Rune Weaver to the top right RC and placed a card from his hand into the soul.

"He's definitely using those abilities to his advantage in order to get more cards into the soul," Shen commented.

"Tai needs to take him down quickly before he gets a bigger number. If he has a Grade three up his sleeve that is very powerful, then he'll be in big trouble," Tamari said.

"First, my rearguard Rune Weaver will attack your Vanguard with the support of Devil in Shadow," the masked man said, landing the hit and Tai did a damage check, "Next my Vanguard Rune Weaver will attack"

"No guard," Tai said.

"Drive Check," the masked man checked the top card, but no Trigger, "The attack doesn't go through. I end my turn"

"Alright then, stand and draw," Tai drew a card and smirked, "I ride Triple Dark Armor! And I call Cursed Lancer and Gururubrau!" Tai rode the unit and called the two units on the top left and right circles, with Cursed Lancer on the left and Gururubrau on the right, "First I'll attack with Gururubrau! And since I have a Shadow Paladin as my Vanguard, he gains an extra 2000 power!"

"No guard," the masked man said, checking for a Trigger and got Endless Boozer, "Draw Trigger activated, I get to draw a card," the man placed the Trigger into the Damage Zone and drew a card.

"Next is Cursed Lancer, attacking your rearguard Rune Weaver!" Tai announces.

"No guard," the masked man said, his rearguard unit heading to the Drop Zone.

"And finally, supported by David, Triple Dark Armor attacks your Vanguard!"

"No guard," the man said.

"Checking for a Trigger," Tai said, checking the top card and didn't find any.

"Damage Check," the man said, checking the top card, but didn't find anything and placed it into the Damage Zone.

"I end my turn," Tai said.

"Stand and draw," the man drew a card and picked a card from his hand, "I ride Blue Dust and call Alluring Succubus, Flirtatious Succubus, and Killing Dollmaster," the man rode the Grade 2 and called the three units, with Alluring Succubus taking the top right RC and Flirtatious Succubus to the top left, and finally Killing Dollmaster on the bottom center RC, "With Alluring Succubus and Flirtatious Succubus' abilities, I soul charge two cards," the man said and placing the top two cards of his deck into the soul.

"He's got a few cards that will let him bring the number of souls he has up," Shen commented.

"That is the point of Dark Irregulars. The more souls, the stronger the Vanguard becomes," Tamari said.

"Supported by Devil in Shadow, Alluring Succubus attacks your Vanguard," the man said.

"No guard," Tai said and checked for a Trigger, with it being a Draw Trigger, "Draw Trigger, I get to draw a card," Tai said, placing the Trigger into the Damage Zone and drawing a card and smirked _Perfect. Just what I needed._

"Supported by Killing Dollmaster, Blue Dust attacks your Vanguard," the man announces.

"No guard," Tai said.

"Checking for a Trigger," the man checks and gets a Critical Trigger, "5000 added to Flirtatious Succubus, with the Critical going to Blue Dust"

Tai checked the top two cards, and there was no Trigger, bringing his damage to 4.

"Why does he keep letting attacks through?" Shen wonders.

"He must have something planned," Tamari commented.

"Flirtatious Succubus attacks your Vanguard," The man announces.

"Belial Owl will guard that!" Tai announces, sending the unit to the Drop Zone after it was used.

"My turn ends," the man said.

Tai chuckles, "Stand and draw," he held a card up as a bluish-black flames surrounded it, "Take flight, and incinerate my enemies in flame and lightning! I ride! Shadow Blaze Dragon!"

"Wait, now I get it. Shadow Blaze has a Limit Break ability that he can use. Meaning that…" Shen started to say.

"Now I'll move Gururubrau back and call Crest-Vicious Dragon in place of his original spot. Next I'll call Sonnbrau," Tai said, calling the two units.

 _What is he planning?_ The masked man thought to himself.

"Now, Limit Break!" Tai announced, his Vanguard circle flashing in front of him, "I will pay one from the Damage Zone and send Promising Knight, David, Tennbrau, and Gururubrau to the Drop Zone!"

The three cards he called out moved to the Drop Zone and one of the cards in the Damage Zone flipped over. "Not good!" The masked man said in shock.

"Say goodbye to your front rearguard!" Tai said, sending the front rearguard cards to the Drop Zone, "Now paying for Shadow Blaze's Counter Blast three times over! Adding 6000 power!" Tai shouted, the other three cards flipping over.

"He's going to try and end this!" Shen shouted.

"Attacking with Crest-Vicious!" Tai announced.

"I'll guard with Beast in Hand!" The man said, running out of cards, and he only had a Grade 1 and Grade 2 in his hand left, the rest as Grade 3s _No! This can't be happening!_

"Attacking with Shadow Blaze Dragon!" Tai announced.

"Ah! I'll guard with Dimension Creeper and Decadent Succubus!" The man said desperately.

"This isn't going so well…" The other Dark Irregulars user said to the leader.

"Checking the Twin Drive…" Tai checked the first card, with it being a Critical Trigger.

"That's enough power to break through...but if he can pull another Critical…" Shen commented.

Tai placed his hand on his deck and closed his eyes, "I believe in my deck...my Shadow Paladins!" He pulled the card from the top and opened his eyes and looked at it before grinning and showing it, another Critical Trigger, "All effects...go to Shadow Blaze! Break through! Shadow Requiem!"

Shadow Blaze ignited in blue flames and unleashed a torrent of lightning on the enemy Vanguard, resulting in a struggle.

"Gah! I-I just need to pull a Heal Trigger! Then I'm safe!" The masked man checked the top three cards, but gasped in shock and his head dropped, none of them being Heal Triggers.

On Cray, the attack broke through and the result was a large explosion.

"Amazing! Before his opponent could even bring out a Grade 3, Tai smashed his way through and won yet another victory for his team! Team Draco is now heading to the semi-finals!" The announcer said, the crowd going wild.

Tai smiled and collected his cards before holding his hand out to his opponent, "Sorry if it didn't turn out like you expected. I...kinda went wild there"

The opponent collected his cards and hesitated a bit before shaking his hand, "I should actually be thanking you. You're an amazing player with the Shadow Paladins"

"Thanks. But I could stand to tune my deck a bit more," Tai said.

After leaving off with good terms, Team Draco was planning for what to do in the semi-finals.

"So, we got some time to plan for the next part of the tournament. What do we need to do?" Shen asked.

"I suggest we get some booster packs to try and modify our decks a little. The next team is consisted of five members, each using a different clan from the Dragon Empire," Tamari said.

"And I guess they'll be using sub-clans?" Shen asked.

"Yes. The Narukami player is using the Eradicators. With Kagero, that guy is using Seal Dragons. The Tachikaze user is playing with Ancient Dragons. Nubatama and Murukumo are the only Clans in Dragon Empire that don't have any major archetypes, but these two use certain Ride evolution units," Tamari explained.

"No doubt Team Chaos is blazing through. What Clans do those three use?" Tai asked.

"Kabaru uses Megacolony. He plays a hybrid deck of attack and defense, but it's pretty aggressive. Fuyu uses the Kagero clan and focuses around the Perdition sub-clan. She takes pride in leaving an opponent without much options on attack and defense. And Aki...he uses the same Clan as me. Link Joker does have its own sub-clans, and he focuses with Star-Vaders. They're a ruthless sub-clan that constantly Locks and unlocks units to gain power. Out of all of Team Chaos, Aki is the most ruthless when it comes to a Cardfight. He taunts and berates his opponents to get them to make mistakes," Tamari explained.

"If he's up at some point...I want to battle him. Me and my Amber Dragons will show him the power of Kagero!" Shen said with determination.

Amber Dawn, having appeared behind Shen, smirked and chuckled, "That's the spirit, kid. But you won't get anywhere unless you can build upon your forces. Since Link Joker is a major threat, whether in war or in a Cardfight, you will need stronger units"

Shen took notice of that, but made sure that his friends didn't see the reaction _Dawn…_

"I think the newest expansion came out, so we can get some new cards!" Tai said.

"I don't think we'll have enough time to do that Tai," Shen said to his enthusiastic partner.

"Yo! Team Draco, right?" The team looks and saw a girl who looked to be a couple years younger than them standing. She had long red hair and blue eyes wearing a black hoodie with the Kagero clan symbol emblazoned on the front along with black jeans.

"Uh...yeah. Who are you?" Shen asked.

"I'm the Kagero player for Team Dragonflame. Tami Lunu," the girl said.

"Wait, really?" Tai said in surprise.

Tami held up her deck, Perdition Dragon, Vortex Dragonewt shown on the bottom, "Yep. Master of the Perdition Dragons. I'm interested in fighting against you Shen. See who's better with the Kagero clan. But, you can at least modify your deck a bit"

Shen looked at his deck, "Really? Well...you're not wrong…"

Tami smiled and held a G-Unit card out to him, it was faced down for extra surprise, "Here. My older sister, the leader of my team and our Narukami user, used to play Kagero and had this as her trump card"

Shen took the card and flipped it over, his eyes widening in shock, "This is…!"

Tai looked and had the same reaction, "Woah! No way!"

The card was a G-Unit version of Amber Dragon, his future self. Amber Dragon Overlord, "New Dawn". Attack power 15000+ with a few abilities. Discard a Grade 3 Kagero unit from the hand in order to increase Attack by 3000, if two are discarded, add 6000 and 1 Critical instead. If this unit Strides over Amber Dragon, Eclipse/Midnight, retire a Grade 2 or greater unit on your opponent's rearguard. As for the art on the appearance of the dragon, Amber Dragon now had four arms, and was covered head to toe in golden armor that had golden flames dancing around him, massive cannon-like objects attached to his arms in an attack position.

"This is...Amber Dragon's future!" Shen said.

"You're going to need it if you're going to get better. I got my own trump card, but I'm not showing it until we're in a cardfight," Tami said, walking off.

"Well, that was nice of her," Tamari commented.

"Yeah! That was awesome of her! She gave you quite an edge!" Tai said in excitement.

"Yeah...only problem is that she'll know how it works. Meaning she'll prevent me from landing a hit. She gave me a double edged sword," Shen said.

"Then use it wisely. Who knows what that girl has up her sleeves," Tamari said.

"Let's get that situated into your deck!" Tai said, helping out his teammate with modifying the deck to suit with the abilities of the new G-Unit.

"Let's see...what if we add this?" Shen asked.

"Nah. That'll throw the balance off majorly," Tai commented, grabbing a card and adding it, "Try this. It'll let you retire more of your opponent's rearguard units"

"Right. That'll help against the Perdition dragons. Take them out before they can activate their abilities," Shen said, before finishing the deck and stacking the cards and shuffling them, placing Amber Dragon, Dawn on the bottom of the deck so he didn't need to search for him in the deck.

"Alright, looks like you're ready to go," Tai said with a smile.

"And don't worry about winning or losing. We got your back," Tamari said, but looked confused when Tai and Shen started giving her looks, "What?"

"I have never heard you sound so nice before. It's like a new you!" Tai said, Tamari blushing and punching his arm, "Ow! What was that for?!"

"Idiot! I can be nice when I want to!" Tamari said, still blushing a bit in embarrassment.

"Yeah, but we hardly see you like this, Tamari. Even right now. It's good to know you can show more emotions. In fact, it's kind of cute to see you like this," Tai said, smiling, making Tamari blush even deeper from embarrassment and started wailing on him.

"Cute?! I'll show you cute you idiot!" Tamari said, getting increasingly embarrassed from what her teammate was saying, Shen smiling a bit, glad he met such interesting friends.

* * *

 **Krika: And that's it for this chapter. And yes, Tamari does show other emotions. She's just one of those kinds of characters that seems cold-hearted, but is actually kind and sweet. Anyway, next couple chapters is Draco vs. Dragonflame! A new power will be awakened! Stay tuned! (P.S. If you want to give any ideas to make the story more interesting, send me a PM instead of doing it in the comments section. Makes things easier)**


	7. Announcement

**Hey guys. This isn't going to be a regular chapter for Dragon Master but a little announcement for the guest posting the comments. To PM, or Private Message, you need to make your own Fanfiction account to do so. Also PMing is a much cleaner way to try and give ideas instead of me constantly having to check the comments section. So PLEASE do that. Furthermore I do appreciate the ideas for how to progress or make the story better, but I'm just one guy and this is an AU, or Alternate Universe, story. Same timeline but with obvious changes to it. I really do appreciate the ideas, but there's a fine line between sharing ideas, and trying to flip the script all together. Lots of ideas are thought up of for a story, but most of them don't make the final cut. Anyway, thanks for hearing me out, and still stay tuned for the next real chapter of this story.**


	8. The Coming Storm

**Krika: Hey guys, welcome back to Dragon Master! Sorry if I've been updating this, and some other stories of mine, pretty slow. Reason for that is...I have a freaking life. You can't expect me to 100% devote myself to the stories, and you most certainly expect me to update these quickly. If I did that, the quality of every chapter will become worse and worse due to them being rushed. AND there's the fact of having to create new or rework Vanguard decks for the many characters, that is no easy task at all. Have patience. Now enjoy. Cardfight Vanguard belongs to Bushiroad. Also some ideas added in, specifically with Tamari's Avatar, were from the guest who's been posting basically all the reviews on this story. Also this chapter will not include a Cardfight, but instead will show some things that have been happening on Cray. And of course adding in another idea from the guest. But seriously, make an account so I can at least give proper credit please. Makes it easier for everyone actually.**

* * *

Team Draco was going over their game plan, Dawn watching them, though wasn't able to help out since Shen was the only one who can hear and see him.

"Don't know why I can't give you any suggestions, boy," Dawn said to Shen.

"This is different from battles and wars fought on Cray, Dawn. Plus I actually can't take you serious while you're in this form," Shen whispered.

"Hey! It's not my fault I've been reduced to the form I once had as a child! I told you before that my real body is in a deep slumber on Cray, and this projection is taking whatever power I have," Dawn said in annoyance.

"Right..." Shen said, a bit unconvinced that a powerful dragon like this can be like this.

 _Dumb kid...can't really understand that this is a very humiliating form for me..._ Dawn thought, dropping his head with depression lines hanging over him.

* * *

 ***Meanwhile on Cray...***

Shadow Blaze Dragon was in the Dragon Empire to meet with Lava Arm Dragon, a close friend to Eclipse. "Wonder why the right hand dragon of Eclipse wants to see me? Oh well," Shadow Blaze said to himself before reaching what looked like a mausoleum, Lava Arm standing in front of it.

"Ah, Shadow Blaze. Glad you could come," Lava Arm said, greeting the dragon.

"It's odd to be invited to the Dragon Empire, Lava Arm. Especially to where a great general is resting," Shadow Blaze said.

"About that...I believe he will awaken soon. As to why, I am not sure," Lava Arm said.

"What? Don't tell me he's going to be like Dragonic Overlord when Link Joker invaded..." Shadow Blaze said cautiously, not wanting another 'Rebirth' incident to happen.

"Doubtful. It was the Void that caused such a change, and since Link Joker was eradicated by the Gold Paladins. But I suspect it has something to do with those mysterious visitors...the Gear Chronicle," Lava Arm said.

"Things have been strange since they arrived...but their involvement beginning to awaken Eclipse? That seems a little farfetched, don't you think?" Shadow Blaze asked, rubbing the back of his head.

"Maybe...but he was mumbling about something not too long ago...the first time he ever spoke in years," Lava Arm said.

"And that something is...?" Shadow Blaze asked, crossing his arms and growing even more curious.

"Stride. That mysterious power that has been popping up all across Cray. And if I remember correctly, you have access to that power as well," Lava Arm said.

"I've only used it once or twice. But Eclipse talking about it...it's possible he has the potential to use it as well. And as we know, Gear Chronicle is in charge of basically tutoring users of this mysterious power," Shadow Blaze said, turning to leave, "Make sure to tell Dragonic Overlord about this. I'm sure he'd be interested to see Eclipse back in action"

"Very well. Take care, Shadow Blaze," Lava arm said, the Shadow Paladin member, more specifically former Gold Paladin member, leaving to head back to United Sanctuary. The Kagero soldier looking at the mausoleum, "It'll be good to see you again...old friend"

At the same time at Star Gate, in a secret location hidden by no other than Harmonics Messiah. Here is where the Link Joker clan is hidden after it was revived by Messiah. Though they lost their sense of savagery when they invaded Cray and Earth, that doesn't mean their personalities had changed. Though...that's not much the case either, as some became curious about what the denizens of Cray do. Astrobreak Dragon being one of them.

"It's almost nighttime," Astrobreak said to a small group of Link Joker members. They were getting ready to head out at the dead of night to explore Cray. This has been a nightly thing for the members of Link Joker who want to see more of their current home after their revival.

"I just can't wait! I'm going out!" Star-vader, Worldline Dragon said in excitement and tried flying out, but Astrobreak grabbed him.

"You crazy? If any of the denizens see you, you'll start a panic and be hunted!" Astrobreak said.

"Oh...right," Worldline said, laughing sheepishly.

"I'm interested in seeing the oceans of this world tonight," Negligible Hydra said.

"Just be careful of the Aqua Force. They protect the oceans of Cray after all," Stike Star-vader, Krypton warned.

"Heading out again, eh?" A voice said with a chuckle, making the members look and see Star-vader, Chaos Breaker Dragon.

"Chaos Breaker," Astrobreak said with a sneer.

"What's it to you?" Hydra asked.

"Just saying. They will never accept us. Not after all the trouble we caused," Chaos Breaker said with a chuckle.

"Messiah said that in time they will come to accept us. There's no point in thinking like that," Krypton said.

"Don't blame me when you get yourselves killed," Chaos Breaker said, leaving with a sinister laugh.

"Jerk," Astrobreak said, having not liked him, even when she was serving the Void and after.

"Hey! The sun's finally down! Let's go, let's go, let's go!" Worldline said in excitement and managed to get out of Astrobreak's grip and flew out to explore Cray.

"Always so spastic, that Worldline," Astrobreak said with a sigh before she and the group went out to explore, Astrobreak accompanying Hydra to make sure he doesn't get into any trouble with the Aqua Force.

And speaking of the Navy...no rest for protectors as a ship was making its nightly patrol. The commander of it was Cobalt Wave Dragon, a fearsome Tear Dragon that gained the title "Blue Sword Dragon" due to how his body appears and his great speed that allows himself to become a living weapon. While most Aqua Force members that are above the rank of field officer normally use long-range attacks, that's different for Cobalt, who prefers close-range combat. "Nothing...are you sure those reports are true? That beings looking awfully similar to Link Joker members were spotted around these waters at night?" Cobalt asked his second-in-command, Ocean Keeper, Plato.

"The commander who personally placed the report was positive of his claim. Of course this is very worrisome since the trouble Link Joker caused," Plato said.

"Yes...I'm well aware of what power that clan holds. Being able to corrupt mighty warriors from various clans," Cobalt said, remembering the battle with a Reversed Cocytus.

"Sir! Object on the starboard side!" Officer Cadet, Erikk called out.

"Don't open fire yet. We can't be for certain that this is a hostile," Cobalt said before looking at Plato, "Take a scouting team to check it out, but exercise caution. Send out a flare if it is indeed a member of Link Joker"

"Yes, sir," Plato said before taking a team out, moving to intercept with the mysterious object, however...

"Hellloooo!" the object, who was actually a Forest Dragon of Neo Nectar, Full Bloom Dragon, called out in a joyous tone, making the scouting team stop.

"What is a Forest Dragon doing all the way out here?" Plato asked.

"I came here to see Cobalt," Full Bloom said with a smile.

"You know our commander?" Officer Cadet, Alekbors asked.

"He did save my life when Link Joker invaded Zoo," Bloom said with a giggle, "Though...I've been meeting him every now and then when he's off duty"

The Aqua Force members looked at each other in confusion before deciding to take her to the ship, with Cobalt sighing, "Bloom...we talked about this. I would be taking occasional night patrols starting last week"

"Oh, but I couldn't help but feel worried for you! So I decided to come out to your ship by myself!" Bloom said with a cute look.

"Yeah, but you could have gotten attacked! It's the dead of night, so it can be hard to even discern a friendly from an enemy in this darkness. You're lucky I don't have my men attack at the first sight of a mysterious figure," Cobalt said, obviously worried for her safety.

"And that's what I like about you! Unlike some other Aqua Force commanders, you always make sure that whether or not they're hostile or friendly. It makes you a nice dragon to get along with!" Bloom said with a bright smile, making the commander blush a bit and glance away.

"W-well...uh...still. You should send some sort of message before trying to visit me while I'm on duty," Cobalt said, though he heard some of his men whisper.

"I never seen the commander act like this before. Wonder if there's anything more between these two?" Battle Siren, Stacia said.

"I'd rather not get involved with the commander's personal life," Alekbors said.

"Okay, deck cleaning duty for the both of you for the next week!" Cobalt said to them, embarrassed by what they were talking about.

"Yes sir!" The two quickly said.

"Hey sir! Something spotted on the port side. Distinguishable black rings confirming that they're Link Joker," Erikk called out.

"Alright then everyone, prepare for battle!" Cobalt said to his men, getting ready to attack the unsuspecting Link Joker members.

Meanwhile with Astrobreak and Hydra...

"You really like the sea, don't you?" Astrobreak asked.

"It's more relaxing than staying in a cave...late night swims are the best. At least, that's what I heard from some of the others," Hydra said.

"Being able to explore Cray in general is relaxing," Astrobreak said.

"That's true. I just hope the other clans can accept us..." Hydra said solemnly.

"Well, this is a surprise," a voice said, catching the two off guard and looking to see Shadow Blaze Dragon, looking at them with intrigue, "I thought all of Link Joker was wiped out"

"I remember you...you're Shadow Blaze Dragon of the Gold Paladins," Astrobreak said nervously.

"Formerly of the Gold Paladins. I returned to my Shadow Paladin brethren after the War of Liberation. But not without taking a souvenir that allowed me to have my current powers. So what are you two doing here in the middle of the night?" Shadow Blaze asked.

"We're just exploring...but if you intend to harm us, we won't hesitate to fight back," Astrobreak said.

Shadow Blaze narrowed his eyes as he looked into hers before smirking a little, "Your eyes are pretty determined while saying that. And they don't hold the Void within them either. Besides, I hate fighting harmless beings. But I don't think THEY know that," Shadow Blaze said, pointing towards the incoming Aqua Force.

"The Aqua Force?! They spotted us!" Hydra said in a panic.

"You know, I can probably stay for a bit to try and talk with them. But considering what your clan did, I doubt they'd be up for negotiations," Shadow Blaze said, scratching his head with a sigh.

"You gotta be kidding me...we can't run or they'll follow us back to the others. I doubt Messiah will protect us from the full onslaught of every clan on Cray," Hydra said, catching Shadow Blaze's attention.

"Messiah...?" He was pretty much surprised to hear that name. The creator of all life on Cray. But his thoughts were interrupted when they hear a sound. A large wake was being created by none other than Cobalt Wave Dragon, who was charging at them full speed, "Not good. These are Cobalt's men. Sure, he shows mercy to every enemy he fights, but I don't think it'll be the case this time around"

Cobalt and his men stopped about ten feet from the members of Link Joker and the Shadow Paladin dragon, making the Commander narrow his eyes, "Shadow Blaze Dragon. Are you speaking to these monsters?"

"Monsters? I don't think I get what you mean. If you're referring to Astrobreak and Hydra, then you're mistaken," Shadow Blaze said.

"Tch. Even knowing their names?" Cobalt scoffed and his anger grew.

"I fought them during the War of Liberation. I killed them too if I remember correctly. But that was then, this is now. I'm gonna have to ask you to leave these two alone, or else you might incur the wrath of someone very high up," Shadow Blaze said, beginning to crackle with electricity.

"Making threats, are we? Stand aside or I'll tear you to shreds as well," Cobalt warned.

"You don't really understand. When I say very high up, I mean of deific status. Hydra here just mentioned a name that carries meaning for every living being on Cray. Messiah," Shadow Blaze said, catching the Aqua Force off guard when they heard that name, making Cobalt glare at the Link Joker beings.

"How do you know that name?" Cobalt asked rather aggressively.

"Harmonics Messiah was the one who revived the Link Joker clan as beings of Cray. They gave us a second chance. And this was after Brandt nearly collided with Cray, mind you. We are not being controlled by the Void any longer. We are no longer slaves to its whim," Astrobreak said with determination in her eyes.

"Guess the one who created all of us has a pretty wide range of showing mercy it would seem," Shadow Blaze said, putting his claws behind his head as he looked towards the Commander, "If Link Joker is back, but were revived by Messiah, I would think of hearing their side of the story"

"But after what they did during the war, you'll easily trust them?" Plato said incredulously.

"Trust is a very delicate thing, I'll agree with you there. But I looked closely at their eyes and didn't see the hatred and blood-thirst that was present during the war. Besides, the return of Link Joker is the least of everyone's concern," Shadow Blaze said, making everyone look at him.

"What do you mean?" Astrobreak said.

"I assume you've all heard that Blaster Dark was appointed to be the new headmaster of the Shadow Paladins. And not too many are liking that. A dragon named Claret Sword Dragon especially. Something is about to go down and I fear that Claret Sword will be the spark that's going to ignite the powder keg. A civil war is going to start. When, I'm not sure, but it could be soon," Shadow Blaze said with a serious tone, causing some of them to gain worried looks.

"If a civil war is about to happen within the United Sanctuary, that's your own problem. Don't try to drag any of the other clans into this," Cobalt warned Shadow Blaze.

"I'm not trying to. Just delivering a fair warning on what may happen. Claret Sword has been brutal and conniving, we all know this. He believes that he should've been the headmaster, but I would never follow anyone who would sacrifice their own men in vain," the Shadow Paladin said with a solemn tone, "So if war does erupt within our ranks, I just hope it'll be finished soon. Enough blood has been spilled on this world"

Astrobreak and Hydra looked down a bit, knowing that fact all too well, "Wars always seem to break out, huh? When will they end?" Hydra said.

"Not sure. Anyway, I need to get going. I don't think my superiors will like me staying out this late for too long," Shadow Blaze said, leaving them and an awkward silence came about the Aqua Force and Link Joker.

Cobalt stared at the two for a while before sighing and turning, "Let's go. Plato, prepare a report. Say that nothing has been spotted and we'll leave it at that"

"But sir-" Plato said but he was interrupted.

"If Shadow Blaze was able to easily forgive those two for causing such mayhem, then perhaps there's hope for them, much like there is hope within everyone," Cobalt said, and that was enough to convince his men, leaving the two Link Joker members.

"Geez. That Shadow Blaze guy has a way with words, doesn't he?" Hydra said.

Astrobreak look towards the direction Shadow Blaze left and couldn't but to give a little smile, "Yeah...I guess so. Come on Hydra, let's head home"

The two headed back home, and thankfully the others made it back safe as well. But Shadow Blaze's words rang true. A civil war was about to start soon. And the clans may become partially involved more than even they think. Especially the mysterious Gear Chronicle, who have been preventing tragedies left and right that came about from the power of Stride. Only time will tell of what will happen.

* * *

 **Krika: And that's it for this chapter. There will be more Cray chapters in the future, but for the next few ones will be on Earth. But things will get pretty interesting during GIRS Crisis and Stride gate, and eventually NEXT and Z. Stay tuned!**


End file.
